Chasers
by ForbiddenKHfan216
Summary: Sora's parents have just left him and his older brother, Ventus, all alone in the world. They have to move to a new town, start in a new school and live a whole different life. Trouble is, not everything is as it appears in sleepy little Twilight Town.
1. Prologue: Saying GoodBye

**Why hello there, everybody!**

**It's me, ForbiddenKHFan216, bringing you a brand new release instead of actually updating!**

**... Don't get mad, I'm stuck on the other stories!**

**For you new guys who have virtually no idea what I'm talking about, ignore me please and head straight for the story.**

**Now, my usual disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Crisis Core, and all other video games and/or franchises that may appear in this story do not, have not, will ever in fact belong to me. I'm just screwing around with the characters cause I suck at writing and I'm trying to get better at it so I can become an actual author!**

**With that little thing in mind, I hope you enjoy.**

**... Alright, a few last things. **

**This is one of my first times writing in First Person Perspective, so be nice. Second, this is one of my first times doing something almost completely out of canon. Except maybe for my Wonderland stories, but I don't count those, actually. Third, this is one of those fics where the characters have become related to each other, and some of them are very obvious. Fourth, it's gonna be sad at parts. For you guys who don't like sad stuff, stay the fuck out of this fic and go find Day At the Castle or something. Those are funny, if a little stupid.**

**NOW, if you want to, you can enjoy.**

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><p>Prologue: Saying Good-Bye<p>

I clutch at my head tightly, biting my lip fiercely in an attempt to keep the tears out of my eyes. What do I do? Oh my god, what the hell am I supposed to do now? Someone... anybody... Mom... Someone help my Mom...

Gulping past the lump that had suddenly appeared in my throat, I walk over to the bed, pulling up a seat in the simple folding chair we had placed there for all of Mom's visitors. I take the pale, limp hand in my own, squeezing it gently. I can only stare at the small figure in the bed as the hot tears stream down my face. She wasn't moving.

"Mommy?" I choke out quietly, nearly shocking myself with the ability to speak. Since when could I do that? In fact, when was the last time I had ever called her Mommy? "Mommy? Mommy, answer me, Mommy." I say again in a strange, very high-pitched voice as I gently rub my thumb over the back of her hand. Her hand was so hot, it almost hurt to hold. But I wanted to, anyway, cause I knew she would want me to. I had to be careful though, cause too much pressure hurt her and I really didn't want to hurt her when she was already in so much pain... She was already in so much pain from the disease eating her up inside. I wouldn't dare hurt her when she was fighting so much for me and my big brother and my dad.

"... Sora?" She whispers softly. My heart leaps inside of my chest as I clutch at her hand, mentally thanking all the gods that I knew – ancient and otherwise – for giving me that much more time with my Mom.

"I'm here, Mom. I'm here, Mommy." I whisper back to her, trying to see her through my blurry vision. For some reason, I couldn't see her very clearly. Probably cause I was crying so damn much. A faint smile appears on my mom's face as she weakly moves her other hand to put it over the back of mine. Then I knew. Oh my god.

"Sora... you have to take care of your brother. Okay? He's not as strong as you are. He won't be able to take this, honey." She informs me quietly. I blink in confusion. What the? What the hell was she talking about? Was she talking about Ven? Tough, totally fearless older brother Ven? The guy who could kick my ass from one end of the island and back without even breaking a sweat? Did she finally lose her mind from the fever? "Sora, promise me. You have to take care of him. He's not as strong as you. Neither is she, but we both know that." Alright, it was official. My mother's last words were feverish gibberish. Who the hell was she talking about? "Take care of your little brother, Sora. Take care of your sister. They're going to need you... and Ven. They'll need you both, sweetie. I know how little you are, you're still so small, but you need to be strong, So-So." So-So? She hadn't called me that since I was like, five! Little brother... oh my god, she was hallucinating. Her final words were hallucinations? She couldn't **_DO_** this to me!

"Mom! No, mom, I don't **_HAVE_** a little brother **_OR_** a sister! Mom, please! What am I supposed to do now, Mom? How do I find Ven? How can I get a hold of Master Eraqus?" I beg as the machines at her side suddenly start beeping and her eyes flutter slightly. She couldn't do this! Mom!

"I love you, Sora. I love you so much, sweetie. Take... care... of... them..."

A loud long blare suddenly sounds out throughout the room as I let out a loud scream.

"MOM! MOM, MOM, MOM, MOM!"


	2. Chapter One: Train Ride

**How weird, a second chapter in less than a day.**

**Disclaimer: What I said before still stands.**

**I think I went a little overboard with Ven's personality, now that I think about it. Sorry bout that, folks.**

**By the way, this will all eventually make sense.**

**Note the word "Eventually."**

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><p>Chapter One: Train Ride<p>

Silently, I look out the scratched and dirty window of the train, staring out at it in boredom. I knew for a fact that I was stalling in a pretty sucky attempt to not talk to Ven, but I didn't care. I needed some time alone. Unfortunately, alone time is pretty damn hard to get when you're on a train headed to a town you can't even remember, trapped in the same compartment as your sulking older brother and have a bladder that seems ready to burst. Oh yeah. I really, really shouldn't have had that second soda. Or the third. Definitely not one of your best ideas, Minami.

"Sora," a soft voice says soothingly. Nope, I wasn't going to listen. Ven could go to hell. I wasn't going to fall for his psychobabble bullshit this time around.

I flinch when Ven's hand suddenly finds my shoulder, very gently kneading it between his fingers. I struggle not to cry when he says quietly: "I miss them, too."

My sapphire eyes immediately prickle with tears at this brief mention of our parents, of Mom and of Dad. Gone. They were gone now. Me and Ven were all alone now. I hear this soft whimpering noise and Ven pulls me into a tight hug, putting his head on my shoulder as he hums out a few bars of "Hikari," the song that Mom would sing to us when we couldn't sleep. Even now, knowing that she was gone and would never sing my favorite part of the song again, the song couldn't help but soothe me. Silently, we both start singing along to it: "When you walk away, you don't hear me say... please, oh baby, don't go; simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight..."

A lame sort of half-smile suddenly appears on my face as Ven rubs beneath my eyes roughly, obviously trying to get me to stop crying. "Alright, runt, knock it off. There ya go. Much better. Show me some teeth, alright, lil bro?" Ven demands, flashing me a mouthful of bright and shiny white teeth. I could practically see my own reflection in them. Weakly, I bare my own teeth at him.

"... You forgot to brush, didn't you." Ven says in a disapproving tone of voice, giving me a sort of brotherly scowl as he places his hand on the top of my head. Wincing, I knew what would happen next. Even knowing that, I couldn't help but groan as he ruffles my messy brown spikes playfully, smirking in amusement as I give him a glare. "Well, you can brush your teeth at Uncle Cloud's house. I'm sure he and Uncle Zack have some sort of bathroom." He muses jokingly, his dark blue eyes flashing mischievously as he stretches out lazily and puts his feet up on the seat next to me.

"I wanna go home, Ven." I whisper quietly to him, putting my chin onto the windowsill, still staring out the window. I watch these greenish brown blurs zip past the train - probably trees or something – and I could feel an almost physical ache for the clean whiteness of our island. I wanted to go back to our house so badly, wanted to wait there at our battered old kitchen table for our mom and our dad like we did when Mom went into the hospital the first time, that it felt like a part of me had just been ripped out of me. That little cottage wasn't just a house, it was home. My home. I wanted to go home.

"... We **_ARE_** going home, Sora. Don't worry bout it. I'm sure Uncle Cloud and Zack and Aunty Aerith will be nice. … Anyway, it's better than going back to live with Grandpa Yen." We both sudder at the thought of staying with our "grandfather" in his creepy old tower. Ven smiles at me and puts a hand on my knee, squeezing it gently. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you, Sora. I promise that you won't be alone anymore." Ven promises quietly, his normally cheerfully eyes going dark with guilt. I nod solemnly at him and gulp nervously past the lump in my throat.

"What... What if the other kids don't like me?" I whisper hoarsely. Ven flinches as if I had just physically slapped him. A savage sort of gleam appears in his eyes and I knew he was remembering the kids from the island. He shakes his head violently, defiantly even. Holy crap, did he like me that much?

"They'll **_LOVE_** you. You're awesome, you know! My dork of a little brother, you'll do just fine in Twilight Town." He declares proudly, smiling at me encouragingly. I stare at him in complete surprise. Oh my god, Ven actually loved me. Even though I had totally screwed up his private school education with that Master Eraqus guy, and he still liked me? I had totally screwed up his life and he still cared! Whoa, my brother loves me. What a weird feeling.

"... Thanks, Venny." I mumble quietly in embarrassment, keeping my eyes glued to the window. A long heavy silence starts in the almost empty train compartment. Ven stays completely silent and I don't bother to speak, only focusing on the blurs. It was practically a game. Figure out what that blotchy thing looked like. I was between deciding that one blur was either a huge tea kettle or a very weirdly shaped sign when I suddenly hear a loud cough and someone hugging my waist tightly. What the hell?

"I'm sorry, Sora. For not being there." Ven's now husky voice whispers quietly into my ear as my older brother sobs into my shoulder. I feel a few tears drip out of my eyes as I lean my head against the icy cold window. I tighten my hand up into a fist as I tell him quietly: "I'm sorry you weren't there, too."


	3. Chapter Two: Chance Meeting

**You know, it's starting to hit me.**

**I should really go back to my earlier stories and fix them up.**

**This is some of the best stuff I've ever written... and that's pretty damn sad.**

**Disclaimer: Still f*cking stands. Me and Nomura haven't come to an agreement yet.**

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><p>Chapter Two: Chance Meeting<p>

The boy stares on straight ahead at the sunset, his dark blue eyes glazed over with pain as he runs a hand through his blood-soaked blonde hair. In the faint orange light of the setting sun, and because of the crimson blood, it looked almost red. Wincing, the boy puts a hand to his bruised right eye. He knew from experience that by the end of the evening, his eye would be swollen almost shut. Biting his already bloodied and bruised lip, he could only think about what he would have to tell "Superior" and his friends within the gang. He would be in so much trouble for this. Damn that Seifer and his band of little "Discipline Committee" losers!

He lets out a soft groan as he puts a hand to his injured side, wincing as he feels the hot sticky blood trickle into his black gloves. The real thing he could do at the moment was to hide his injuries until he could get back to the "Castle" and ask one of the older members to patch him back up. He looks down at the long black cloak he wore, grimacing with a fierce scowl when he notices the large tears that the fight had left in it. He was going to be in so much trouble with Seven and Five... He could only hope that Four or maybe even Eleven were in a good mood, and would keep quiet about the attack.

"I'm so dead." The boy mutters darkly to himself, slurring the words out awkwardly through a mouthful of bloodied teeth. It was a miracle that he hadn't lost any of them. He shakes his head solemnly, reminding himself that he had to report back to Eight, his best friend, and somehow sneak into his apartment without waking his older brother up. Cause Reno was absolutely a pain when it came to their gang. He was constantly on his (and Eight's and Fourteen's) case to quit the gang and come join him in his odd jobs business. Unfortunately for Thirteen, as the boy was known as in their Organization, quitting was not an option. He had to stay with the gang, for both his and Fourteen's sake. It was the whole reason why he had allowed Eight to initiate them both.

Well, there was no point in delaying the inevitable. Thirteen gets up, shakes his battered and torn cloak free of the dust that frequently accumulated on the ledge he had been sitting on, and turns to go through the door that would take him out through the station and outside. He hastily throws his hood back up on his head, wincing as the soft fabric comes in contract with the bleeding injuries on his scalp, and proceeds to limp awkwardly through the Clock Tower's station. It was only about a ten minute walk, normally, but today it seemed to take forever.

Walking briskly through the crowd of people trying to get onto their trams before they left, Thirteen elbows his way out to the station map, located very conveniently near the door. He notices a teenage boy standing in front of the map, staring intently at it. Thirteen blinks in mild confusion; judging from the black suit with its many brightly colored bands, this kid was a foreigner. He carefully judges the boy in his strange suit, carefully watching him to see if he was any danger. The boy himself, however, seemed completely out of it: all he was doing was staring at the map and playing idly with a large crown-shaped medallion on a chain around his neck on a chain. After a few minutes, and committing to memory the boy's messy brown spikes and vividly blue eyes as well as the large red suitcase that he had on the floor next to his feet, Thirteen decides that the kid was no threat. In fact, he might even be useful. At least, he might be able to "lend" him some munny to buy an Elixir.

As Thirteen carefully walks towards the brunet, pretending to look at the map of Twilight Town, he slowly inches his hand towards the red and yellow pouch at the boy's waist. The boy sighs lazily, completely unaware of everything around him even as Thirteen was about to pick his pocket. A grim sort of smile appears on Thirteen's face; the oblivious kid was asking for it. There was no way that this kid, if he was even bothering to stay for more than a few weeks in Twilight Town, would survive in his world. Better show him this now. As Thirteen's fingers gently brush against the munny pouch, he's about a second away from slicing the strings connecting it to the boy's belt and running away with his prize in hand. There was only one problem with Thirteen's plan: he hadn't noticed the older boy standing near the pamphlet stands, flipping through a schedule of train times.

"HEY! You little shit, get the fuck away from my little brother! Sora! Behind you, runt!" The older blonde snarls violently, startling both Thirteen and his target. Sora, as the boy must have been called, turns around and stares for a moment at the slightly smaller boy standing near him. For a moment, the two boys stare at each other; Sora's eyes sweep over the many injures on Thirteen's face and Thirteen stares in shock at being caught by his target, an event that never happened before. A very confused look appears on Sora's face before he shoves his hand into his pocket. Thirteen immediately flinches away from him, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation for the knife or the fist that he knew would be striking him at any moment. After a few seconds of feeling nothing, Thirteen's unswollen eye opens cautiously. He lets out a startled gasp as he sees Sora's hand enter his vision, offering a handful of munny units to him.

"Take it. Hurry." The boy whispers hoarsely, as if he wasn't used to actually speaking. Thirteen stares at him for a moment before snatching the munny out of his hand, running away in bewilderment even as the older brother shouts violently at him, threatening to call the police on him and calling him a dirty thief.

He looks back carefully, checking to see if Sora was after him, too. But no, Sora continued just to stand there at the map, staring curiously at him even as Thirteen ran away from him. Very slowly, the boy's right hand rises up and he waves good bye to the boy who had tried to pick his pocket.

A genuine smile appears on the injured blonde's face even as he dodges the many hands grabbing at him and he skids into one of the many hidden tunnels of the city; what a nice kid.


	4. Chapter Three: A New Family

**Before anyone asks, I made Sora shy.**

**I don't know why, I just wanted to.**

**I think it had to do with how annoying his personality is to me but don't worry, happy Sora IS in fact going to come out in this. Just not now.**

**So he's very shy in this, cause he got the snot beat out of him by the island kids.**

**... Pfft, the image of Selphie beating the crap out of him with a jump rope still makes me laugh... even if it's horrible to think about...**

**Disclaimer: ... Hmm. Still not mine. Or else I'd be making those Square Enix guys GIVE ME FREAKING KHIII!**

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><p>Chapter Three: A New Family<p>

Ven glares angrily at me, even as I wave cheerfully at the hooded boy I had just met. I might not have known the guy, or why he had just tried to take my munny, but I just had one thing to say to him if I ever met him again. What a cool jacket. I chuckle quietly to myself, rocking slightly on the heels of my feet as I look through the crowd, trying to see where the kid had gone.

"Sora... I warned you about this before we left home! This isn't Destiny Islands! You have to be careful! You're lucky that I was here or you would have lost all of your munny!" Ven scolds, smacking me on the top of my head, very nearly knocking me into the map on the wall behind me. I give him a hurt look as I rub at the probably bruised spot on my scalp. Ven really needed to learn how to control his strength. Just what did that Master Eraqus teach him anyway? How to beat the crap out of people? I'm about to give him some sort of sarcastic comeback – at least I hope it was sarcastic, I wasn't exactly good at this sort of stuff since I had practically been like an only child for most of life, since Ven had been away at school – when someone suddenly puts their hand on my shoulder and I stiffen in fright. Who the hell?

"Ventus? Sora?" A woman asks softly as I turn around carefully, smiling as I recognized the voice. Aerith Gainsborough, a friend of our mom, smiles gently at me as her sparkling blue eyes suddenly recognize my face, even though it had been about ten years since she had seen either me or Ven. "Oh my gosh, you two have gotten so big!" She exclaims in delight, wrapping her hands around my waist and pulling me into a tight hug. As my face mashes into her chest, I suddenly feel a burning warmth flush into my cheeks as the very beautiful older woman snuggles with me for a moment before letting me go and going to go give the exact same treatment to Ven, who turns bright red and hugs her right back. I chuckle quietly to myself; who knew my brother liked older woman? And who knew that those things were so soft?

"Oi, Aerith! Save some of that hugging for me!" A chipper voice whines playfully. My ears immediately perk up at the sound of the child-like voice. Uncle Zack! I grin as the spiky black haired man in what looked like partial plate armor suddenly picks up Aerith, twirling her around even as Ven's face falls slightly at his very brief love being snatched away in front of his eyes. Ven then grins, laughing in a goodhearted sort of way as he allows our uncle grab him around the shoulders, ruffling his blonde hair playfully in the same exact way that Ven had done to me. I chuckle. Some things never changed, and our father's friends were one of them.

"You guys are late..." a solemn voice comments next as I feel someone pat my head gently. I look up to see our uncle, Cloud Strife, – he supposedly liked to be called that, even though we weren't actually blood-related – bend down and pick up my red suitcase. His dark blue eyes peer at me for a moment before softening slightly. He bows his head at me before shoving the extremely heavy suitcase over his shoulder as if it weighed almost nothing. My eyes widen in shock at this; that thing had to be over twenty pounds! How could he be that strong? A very amused smirk appears on his face as he notices just how surprised I looked. Oh, I forgot how arrogant Cloud was... I wonder if he could get me to be that strong...

"Whoa, you guys packed pretty heavy! How long are you planning to stay with us?" Zack asks curiously as he picks up Ven's white and black suitcase, shoving it over his shoulder just as easily as Cloud had done to mine. Aerith smiles nervously, putting a finger to her lip. Me and Ven stare at her in confusion for a moment before suddenly understanding. She hadn't exactly told Uncle Zack about our mom yet. And from the look of it, Uncle Cloud didn't know either. Yikes, this was going to be a nasty shock for both of them.

"... Enough talking. Let's just get back home. You sure you can carry that, Fair?" Cloud demands quietly as he walks towards one of the ticket counters, his hand already going for his munny pouch.

"Hey! I said I would pay for the tram!" Zack shouts at him, running after Cloud with Ven's suitcase over his shoulder. He didn't seem the least bit offended by Cloud's hidden insult. Huh. What good friends.

"Another train? But we just got off of one! We spent HOURS on that thing!" Ven complains quietly to himself, scowling darkly at the backs of our two "uncles" as they argued over who got to pay for what ticket. Aunty Aerith sighs and shakes her head before turning to Ven with a slightly stern look in her eyes. I totally recognized that look. Uh oh, you're about to get it! I smirk, totally ready to hear Ven get told off for being a whiner like he had been doing for half of the trip before going gloomy on me; come on, Aerith, let him have it!

"It'll only be for about ten minutes, Ventus. Don't worry. We'll be home soon." She says in her same soothingly quiet voice, putting her hand on Ven's shoulder gently. A blush suddenly appears on Ven's cheeks as he nods eagerly at this new adventure. Damn. I forgot how nice Aerith was. Oh well. There was still hope with Uncle Cloud. I chuckle quietly at the idea of Ven being told off before Aerith turns to me with that same slightly stern (or was it concerned?) look. Uh oh. What'd I do?

"Sora? Are you okay? You haven't said anything yet..." She says with a worried voice, putting her hand on my forehead as if to check for a fever. I give her a scowl, completely not liking that she thought I was sick. I'm being quiet, not feverish! Ven sighs sadly, putting an arm around my shoulder gently as he nuzzles his cheek against mine in a very sad and lonely way. I glare at him angrily. You do that one more time, and I'm gonna take my suitcase and ram it up somewhere where it freakin' hurts, you blonde idiot!

He motions Aerith in secretively and says solemnly: "He hasn't spoken to anyone but me since Dad disappeared. What happened to Mom... he's taking it really hard." I'm right freakin' next to you, you know. I can hear you. "And well, he wasn't exactly really liked on the island by the other kids..." Ahem, still here. Ven, you can shut up now! "And well, he's really shy around other people. But don't worry, I'm sure he'll lighten up soon." Gee, thanks. Way to boost my ego, bro. "Just be nice to him and show him that you won't beat him up." Ven continues with a very sincere smile, patting me on the head as if I was some sort of disobedient puppy. Ven, I'm going to kill you. Shut up!

A startled look appears on Aerith's face as she looks at me in what looked like total shock. "He got beaten up? Why? He's so sweet!" She demands quietly, looking personally offended that I had been bullied on the island. Gee, thanks, Aunty! I have one more person on my side, and she's totally nice! ... Wait, did she call me sweet?

Ven shrugs. "Cause he's such a dweeb sometimes. I mean, he's alright once you get to know him, but none of the other kids liked him much even when we were little." He comments honestly, patting my head again. Okay, I'm quickly getting sick of being treated like a dog.

"Well, Sora, you won't have to worry about that here. The kids here are really nice. In fact, there's this really nice family right next door to us.. One of their kids is your age, I think. If you want, I can introduce you to her." Aerith says sweetly in a well-intentioned voice, smiling gently at me, already lost in her own thoughts of me being best friends with whoever this girl happened to be. Instead, I turn pale at the idea of a girl, a living breathing physically alive girl, being our neighbor. I had stories to tell about girls, and trust me when I say this: Living next door to one would not be good. Especially if she has a jump-rope. I have nightmares about that jump-rope.

"Alright guys! We're all set! Next tram comes in-" Uncle Zack shouts from the ticket booth as Uncle Cloud walks over to stand besides a small sign that read "Tram Stop".

"Now." He says coolly, just as the tram – which just looked like a bus on a train track to me – pulls up next to him. Damn, he had some real good timing. Did it come from being a fighting instructor? As him and Zack start loading up our suitcases, Aerith, me and Ven take our seats inside. I stare out the almost windowless vehicle out at the bright orange sun setting peacefully behind the hills in a far part of the town.

I could only think of one thing while watching it: Was this place really going to be my new home? As Ven shoves me gently to the edge of the bench I was sitting on to make room for Uncle Cloud, I could hear him already making friends with our new guardians, even going as far to say that I had been practically mugged in the station and asking all sorts of questions about what their home was like. I lay my head onto the windowsill of the window I was next to, closing my eyes quietly. I could only hope that maybe, just maybe, we could live here.


	5. Chapter Four: New Home, Old Feelings

**Alrighty, time to get in a little bit of mystery here about Sora's mom and dad.**

**This story pretty much involves on what they did to their kids, so might as well start, eh?**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine. Goddamn it.**

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><p>Chapter Four: New Home, Old Feelings<p>

As I hear the adults' voices die away slowly as they moved their conversation to the other room, I curl up beneath my bed, trying to hide the tears in my eyes. I had a small plush lion pressed tightly to my chest. I whimper quietly, snuggling with Griever even as my mom's voice echoes quietly in my head: _"We're going to have to get rid of him." _

I whisper quietly into the pale white fabric that was the fur of my only friend, cuddling with the small toy in fear. I didn't want to go away. Please, Mommy, I would be a good boy, just don't let me go away. I wanted to stay with you, Mommy. I hear my dad's voice snarl in anger: _"We don't have to get rid of any of them! Dammit, Sakura, we can't do this to them!"_ I bite my lip nervously as I hold Griever in a little closer, trying not to cry at how they were talking about getting rid of me. I was still only a little kid, only about three, but I understood that someone BAD was happening now. Something VERY BAD was happening to our family. I remain there, curled up underneath the bed, as Griever quietly lets out a soft purr as I accidentally squeeze his chest, reminding me that this was going to be okay.

I smile weakly at the lion, thankful that I had him and... Huh? I blink in confusion, suddenly remembering something. There was someone else, too. I had Griever and him. "Mommy?" I whisper out loud, suddenly noticing for the very first time that there was another bed in my room and that there was someone sleeping peacefully underneath its covers. I could see an arm clutching a large gray wolf to its owner's chest, even hearing a boy's voice mumble quietly in his sleep. I quietly drag Griever out from under my bed with me, standing up awkwardly on my plump little kid legs as if I had been transformed again into the toddler that I had been not too long ago. The lion's legs dangle clumsily from my arm as I creep towards the other bed, taking a hold of a corner of the dark green covers embroidered with bright yellow Paopu fruits with my free hand. I had to see who was in that bed. There was something very important I had to remember. I had to-

"Sora, wake up! Dammit, you're not going to be late for your first day of school, right?" Ven's voice suddenly, jarring me awake from my admittedly weird and strangely familiar dream as easily as he would have if he had thrown a bucket of ice water into my bed. Son of a-! I sit up in bed, very nearly smacking my head against the lamp that Aunt Aerith had placed on the desk next to the bed. I glare violently at my older brother even as he glares back me. Of course, he was already dressed in the dark green plaid slacks and crisp white uniform shirt of our new school and he had his silver backpack slung over his shoulders already. That damn overachieving bastard.

"What time is it?" I demand icily, rubbing my eyes with my fist, trying to get the grains of sleep out of them. I blink slowly, trying to adjust to the bright shaft of morning sunlight streaming through the window. Ven shrugs at me before we, in near perfect unison I might add, turn to the red glaring letters of the alarm clock on my desk. It was

6:25. AM. School didn't start til 9:15. I turn to glare at Ven again.

"... What? I thought it was later. The sun's different here!" Ventus says in protest, even as I forcibly drag myself out of bed just to make him shut up. Morning lark, I was not. I was more of a sleep til noonish kind of guy. I look over at Ven, nodding sleepily towards the large oak door of the closet that we would now be sharing. He immediately understands and scurries over to it, pulling out a freshly dry-cleaned uniform identical to the one that he was wearing. Hell, it was still even wrapped in plastic. I groan as I pull off my worn out old t-shirt with the_** 'Destiny Island Chasers' **_logo on it, very good band by the way, and stand only in my red boxers in front of my older brother, holding my hand out to take my already very hated uniform. I was not looking forward to having to break these clothes in. Silently, he hands the package over and I make myself to put on a clean... well, cleanish... undershirt and to force my very unwilling arms to go through the short sleeved white button-down. Come on guys, I know it's early, but we have to do this. I try to cram my legs into the slacks, but unlike my arms, these guys are fighters. They don't do what I say all the time. I collapse onto my bed, groaning with the overpowering desire to sleep... Lemme sleep, Ven... my legs won't work on me cause they know these pants are stupid...

"Oh, come on! You lazy bum! Get up and put your stupid uniform on!" Ven snarls, grabbing me by the arm and forcing me to stand up again. No, Ven, I already lost the war to my legs... they won't go into those pants unless I get at least two more hours of sleep... it's in the peace treaty...

"Aerith's making hot chocolate." Ven declares in a singsong voice, looking at me with an innocent look in his eyes. I blink in confusion at him for a moment before the idea suddenly makes sense in my very sleepy head. Hot chocolate? … Okay, peace treaty has been adjusted; hot chocolate totally accepted as bribe! I jam my legs into my pants, zipping and buttoning them carefully; I even throw on a belt for good measure. I run over to my side of the closet, pull out my favorite black beanie, cram it onto my head, and then shove my crown necklace over my head and onto my neck as I look around for a clean pair of socks. Where the hell did I leave those socks? And for the matter, where are my shoes?

"Socks are in the drawer, your loafers are under the bed with your sneakers. Come on, Sora, hurry!" Ven commands expertly, holding his hands behind his back as if he was some sort of a general. Quickly, I do as he says, shoving my feet into the oversized loafers after throwing on the knee length socks that we were forced to wear as part of the uniform. God, I feel sorry for these Twilight Academy bastards... what was I supposed to be doing again? Oh yeah, hot chocolate! I look over expectantly at Ven, smiling brightly at him as I stand up and spin around, showing him that I was indeed, dressed and ready for school. Come on, my bribe, my bribe!

"Tie." He states calmly as he holds out the offending piece of green material out to me. I glare at him before glancing down at his chest, where his own tie had already been neatly tied in a half-Windsor knot. Goddammit, wasn't there anything that this guy couldn't do? What did they teach him in that freakin' private school? I snatch the tie out of his hand, throwing it around my neck like a scarf before stomping out of the room, my mind instinctively roaming through the house in search of my bribe. I detect the very distinctive smell of melting chocolate in the air and immediately follow the delicious scent into the kitchen. Damn, Aerith is making the good stuff! It's official, I love this woman!

"Good morning, Sora, Ven. You guys are up early." She comments with a sweet smile, going away from the stove for a moment to pull out a chair for both of us at the kitchen table. I flop into mine, groaning as I cross my arms on the table, putting my head onto them as a makeshift pillow. Ven chuckles quietly as he neatly slides into his seat, smiling broadly at our guardian.

"Wow, Aerith, you didn't have to make us chocolate from scratch!" He comments. I give him a glare; the lady is being very nice. Let her make the good stuff. I happen to love homemade hot chocolate, so don't make her take it away!

"Oh, it's no trouble. Besides, with you two here, I finally have an excuse to make it without feeling guilty!" Aerith admits with a laugh, making Ven and me grin. Still chuckling softly to herself, she carefully serves the creamy mixture of chocolate and milk into three mugs. Even as I reach for the treat, she gently smacks my hand down to the table as she goes to the fridge. In astonishment, I watch eagerly as she pulls out a tub of whipped cream, _oh my god whipped cream!_, and plops a scoop of said deliciousness into each mug. Okay, now she's done, right? Wrong. She goes to one of the many cabinets that line the kitchen walls and pulls out a bag of mini-marshmallows. Oh my god, she's adding marshmallows. That's awesome. She knows what I like without me even telling her. She's psychic. It's official, I double love this woman.

She drops a bunch of marshmallows into my mug, waits a second or two until they're all lined up in a curve along the lip of the mug before dropping two more. She carefully hands it to me with a cheerful but slightly mischievous smile. Me and Ven look into the mug for a moment before cracking up in hysterical laughter. Due to Aerith's careful manipulating of the mini-marshmallows, the hot chocolate looked as if he was smiling at me! I might sound like a dork, but hey, that's freakin' awesome!

Ven grins before fishing out two of the marshmallows and holding them up to his eyes. "Look, we're twins!" He howls, making Aerith giggle as he starts doing a hot chocolate impersonation complete with gurgling and slurping noises. Ah, never say that Ven doesn't have a sense of humor. He'll do something stupid like this to prove you wrong. It was only made twice as funny when Cloud and Zack come in and jump back in shock at Ven acting like a bar of chocolate being melted while me and Aerith howl in laughter. Poor guys, I bet they thinks we're nuts now.

After finally calming down (and explaining to Cloud that we didn't need to go to the looney bin) Aerith finishes giving us our hot chocolates – I was very pleased to see that I was the only one who got a smiling one – and starts cooking up breakfast for all four of the guys and herself. While slurping at my happy chocolate, I watch in amazement as she expertly cracks several eggs into a large pan, stirring them with a spatula before dumping in a load of ham and mixing the entire concoction together into a very nice mess known as scrambled eggs and ham. In another pan, she quickly had a few slices of bread dipped into a mixture of cinnamon and egg frying in what was usually known as cinnamon toast. In what looked like an industrial sized toaster, she had several pieces of bread toasting themselves into crunchy, brown perfection. After she gets everything cooked, she scurries to the fridge again and pulls out a carton of milk and several pieces of fruit and distributes them into glasses and people respectively. I happened to get an apple, which is one of my favorite fruits. Alright, Aerith loves to cook. That much is clear.

Cloud and Zack didn't look the least bit surprised at how much food Aerith was making. In fact, me and Ven were the ones shocked as hell when Aerith hands them plates absolutely piled with eggs and cinnamon toasts. She had made enough for at least four people in just those two plates. We were even more amazed when Cloud and Zack had the guts to gulp all the food down in a matter of minutes and (very politely, mind you) ask for even more. Holy crap.

I stare at how many eggs were vanishing down Uncle Zack's throat at the moment. Holy shit, those two sure could eat..."Sora? What would you like? Cinnamon toast? Scrambled eggs? Some toast? … I could get some cereal out for you." Aerith asks me suddenly, staring at me curiously. I blink to attention and shrug, motioning awkwardly towards the cinnamon toast and the eggs. She frowns a little, shrugs sadly before turning to fill my plate with a small stack of toast and a much smaller mountain of eggs. She even puts my apple onto it and drops in one last marshmallow into my hot chocolate. I smile gratefully at her as she then turns to give Ven his food. Aerith sure was nice, even if she wasn't...

"Sora?" I suddenly hear Cloud and Zack ask in shock as I tremble violently, my vision blurring underneath the veil of tears that had just suddenly appeared in my eyes. Ven looks at me in shock before grabbing me roughly by the arm, making me stand up and shoving me firmly towards the living room. He drags me into one of the leather couches and there I finally burst into tears, whimpering pitifully for my mother. I curl up on the sticky leather, feeling a stream of maliciously cold thoughts struggling to make themselves heard as Ven leaves me on the couch, going to go explain to our guardians that I was in fact, alright.

I clamp my hands to my ears, struggling violently against the rush of misery that had suddenly appeared inside of me, even when I had been happily joking around with our new- No, they weren't our family. They were just taking care of us til our dad came back. Dad – Dad left us all alone, goddamn it, why Dad? _**Dad, Mom-**_ I can feel the breath catch in my chest as I grab at the crown necklace around my throat, struggling to go back to normal, even as my eyes close and I tumble back into the overwhelming darkness.


	6. Chapter Five: Him Again

**Dum dum dum, we're back with Thirteen.**

**I swear, if you guys don't know who he is, you should stop reading this and go back to playing the games.**

**Seriously.**

**Anyway... right, my disclaimer: STILL. FREAKING. STANDS.**

**Seriously, maybe they should sell the franchise to me. I know I would take care of it... kinda.**

**Anyway, this character (WHO YOU SHOULD KNOW WHO HE IS) is related to Sora.**

**Hence the appearance of a convient (how can I not spell that goddamn word?) thing from a previous chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter Five: Him Again<p>

Thirteen sits up in bed, tears collecting in his eyes as he suddenly and inexplicably starts feeling absolutely miserable for no apparent reason. He clutches at his chest, right around where his heart was, as the wave of sadness flows through him. He had been feeling them a lot lately ever since a few months ago.

Unlike before, he didn't start crying immediately, instead calmly collecting his breath in his chest for several seconds before releasing it slowly. Nine had taught him the relaxing technique right around the time he had started feeling so depressed; it worked, to a certain degree, but only if he remembered to do it in time. This time, luckily, he had been able to without waking up Eight again. As the emptiness in his chest slowly starts to dissipate, he could remember the startled look on his friends' faces as he burst into tears in the middle of their usual joking around. Even when asked what had happened, he couldn't explain the sudden sadness, only knowing that maybe, somewhere out there, he just lost something absolutely precious. But then again, he had been a little crazy during that first crying session. He had gotten a lot better since then, thanks to some of the other members of the gang. Although, not all of them had been so sympathetic as Nine, Eight, Fourteen and Two.

He shakes his head, firmly locking away those sad feelings deep down inside of himself. He knew who he was, and a sad and miserable person was not it. He was the tough, practically fearless number Thirteen, one of the most feared gangs in the entirety of Twilight Town. He was their secret weapon, the holder of one of the most prized instrument in the Organization artillery. He could never afford to be sad.

A cruel sort of smirk appears on the young teen's face as he tosses his white sheets off of himself, swinging his legs to the side of the bed and planting them firmly on the tiled floor of his room. When he closed his eyes and concentrated intensely, he could hear the loud snores of his friends in the other rooms, and Reno's TV blaring loudly in his room. It sounded like he had forgotten to turn it off before going to sleep again. He chuckles quietly and gets up, stretching lazily before turning back to his bed, fully intending to make it before going to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Just as suddenly as before, he collapses at the side of the bed, clutching his head in pain. He lets out an aggravated yell, wanting to tell him that he should get a grip on himself before he killed them both- what the hell was he talking about? The pain suddenly vanishes and Thirteen groans, wondering why the hell that the boy, the boy from his dreams, suddenly appeared in his head again.

It had been a very long time since Thirteen had dreamed about the little boy in the red footie pajamas and even longer since he had even thought about the lion toy that he stuffed into the bottom of the large ornate chest he had at the foot of his bed. All that the toy was was a memory of a time he didn't remember, a time before he had met the Superior and a time before he had to protect Fourteen, his little sister. That time didn't matter anymore. What mattered was now, and being the best fighter in the entire Town. That was what was important. Not little kids in red pajamas.

Getting up off of the floor, Thirteen dusts off his long black pajamas bottoms and the gray star t-shirt he was wearing in place of the long sleeved top that he normally wore to bed. He walks over to the chest at the foot of his bed, kneels down besides it and opens it up. He winces a little at how much junk he had. He'd spent about ten years collecting this crap and even now, he really didn't want to give any of it up. Shoving his hand past handfuls of old trading cards, broken wooden swords, cracked and dusty marbles, an old martial arts trophy, and a snapped in half video game system, he struggles to find his old playmate, one of the only toys he had allowed himself to keep from his childhood.

When his fingertips brush against the soft fur of the lion, a quiet smile appears on his face. Why hello there, old friend.


	7. Chapter Six: New Friends

**Alrighty, I'm enjoying writing this.**

**I don't mind if you guys don't review, although it WOULD be kinda nice.**

**Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy are still not mine. ... Damn it.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter Six: New Friends<span>**

"Sora?"

I weakly open my eyes, feeling strangely pissed off. It felt almost like someone had just told me off for something I couldn't understand. I lift my head slowly from the cushion that someone had shoved underneath my head while I had been asleep.

"Sora!" The voice insists loudly, making my already pounding head throb even harder to the tempo of my own heart. I groan softly, slowly lifting my head from the amazingly soft cushion. Blinking rapidly, I panic for about a second while the very blurry room slowly starts softening into recognizable shapes, blinking slowly into the shapes of - … oh shit.

"Sora, are you alright? Should we bring you to the hospital?" Aunt Aerith demands quietly, her gentle eyes filled with nothing but concern for yours truly. Oh crap. I fainted again, didn't I? I smile weakly at her, shaking my head no as I try to sit up.

A flash of pain suddenly stabs into my head, making me yelp and clap my hands to my temples as I curl up, feeling a loud scream echo throughout my head violently. My breathing starts getting faster, each one contorting in my chest until the next comes in, making my fingers spasm with the pain as Aerith lets out a soft cry, shoving herself onto the couch and pulling me into her. For a moment, a very brief moment, I let her cradle me until I hear footsteps – and people arguing- in the distance.

"Goddamn it, Ventus, what the hell haven't you told us?" Uncle Cloud snarls viciously, dragging said struggling and strangely quiet blonde out by the ear, twisting it just enough to make him yelp in pain. Ven spots me awake and immediately says nothing, just struggles to get away from our uncle that much harder.

Uncle Zack on the other hand, looks at me with a relieved smile before going over and clapping his hand heavily onto my shoulder. He chuckles softly before punching me lightly on the chest, saying quietly: "Damn, kid, you scared us. You alright now?" When I nod solemnly at him, casting my eyes back on the ground and at the shaking, obviously freaked out Aerith, he chuckles again. "Man, you should tell us before you do stuff like that. You're scaring the little lady. And the ex-SOLDIER, too."

He jabs a thumb at Aerith before looking up at the struggling Ven and the seriously ticked off Cloud Strife. Cloud, in what I guess counts as him answering, grunts before shoving Ven to the ground roughly. Ven lets out a grunt of his own as he glares up at our uncle. I blink in surprise; from the expression on my brother's face, he was seriously considering trying to tackle Cloud and fighting him. Was he nuts?

"Alright, _**TALK**_, you little blonde snot-" Cloud snarls viciously at him as he grabs my big brother by the collar of his uniform shirt, pulling him back up to look him in the eye. Considering that Cloud was a good five inches taller than Ven and me, this meant that Ven was dangling helplessly from the older blonde's grip. I look over at Aerith, pleading with her mentally to go stop them before there was a blood bath. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Cloud could – and would – pound Ventus into the ground and be able to beat my brother half to death without even breaking a sweat. Uncle was _**THAT**_ pissed off.

"Cloud, you know that's not exactly the best insult since you're blonde, too. Chill, man." Uncle Zack muses as Aerith gets up and touches Cloud by the arm gently. He gives her a startled and pissed off look before she squeezes his arm softly, shaking her head. Without even saying a word, Cloud drops Ven back on the carpet and stomps off to sit on the other couch, glaring at both me and my brother coldly, obviously telling us to explain what was going on, who we were and why the hell he shouldn't throw us both out of the house.

Ven coughs slightly, clearing his throat a little before starting.

"Um... Uncle Cloud? Uncle Zack? There's something we didn't tell you guys. You see... Our Mom... died a few weeks ago," he pauses here, allowing the two men's separate reactions – Zack lets out a startled yelp and Cloud burrows deeper into the leather couch, his head bowing in respectful silence – before continuing: "Our Dad went missing. You guys... are really the only guys we can count on now. We don't have any other family, and I'll be damned if I let Sora stay with Master Yen Sid. He doesn't need a tutor, he needs a family right now. And you guys are the only family we have left."

I give him a startled look; what the hell did he mean by that? The only reason we were here with them was cause of … cause of me?

"Holy... I don't think I have a cuss word bad enough for this, actually." Zack says quietly, chuckling quietly even as his dark blue eyes mist over with tears; he had known my father ever since before either me or Ven was born. He was obviously mourning my mom, a very nice lady in her own right and a good friend of his. He shakes his head solemnly, placing his head in his hands. Aerith immediately goes over to his side, placing her hand on his shoulder but he just shrugs her off, crying quietly into his gloved palms.

Uncle Cloud, on the other hand, looked insanely pissed off.

"You're kidding me. Daichi ran off and left you two kids alone? By yourselves?" He demands angrily, standing up. His eyes gleam with icy cold blue flames as his lips curl up into a savage smirk. His hand immediately goes for his pocket and he chuckles coldly, his mind obviously racing in about a hundred different directions before settling on a single coherent thought.

"Well... uh, actually I was off at a private tutor's place... Sora was the one left alone." Ven corrects weakly, backing away from Cloud as quickly as possible and scooting in beside me on the couch, putting his hands on my shoulders. I give him a glare, knowing for a fact that he was using me as a shield. What was Cloud going to do, attack him? There's a saying for these kinds of situations, Ven, and I'm sure Cloud subscribes to it: 'Don't shoot the messenger.'

"Cloud, please calm down. The boys need to go to school, they're going to be late at this rate. And it's their first day of school..." Aerith pleads with him, leaving Zack temporarily to his mourning as she gets up, holding her hands up in a gesture of peace. Naturally of course, Cloud wasn't paying attention.

"I'M GONNA KICK DAICHI'S FUCKIN' ASS AND DRAG HIS LAZY ASS **_BACK_**!" Cloud declares violently, standing up and pulling out a set of silver keys, practically running for the front door. Aerith groans and Zack, obviously too eager to make fun of Cloud, twirls his index finger around his temple in that distinctive gesture that meant that Cloud was crazy. I couldn't help but nod at it, agreeing completely. Uncle grabs the bronze doorknob, slamming the door open to reveal a woman standing in the doorway.

For a split second, the entire household just stares at her in complete shock. I stare at the dark-haired woman for a second, letting her leather clad shape sink in for a moment. Everything about the lady seemed to be dark, but necessarily in a bad way; she wore almost all black, except for her short-sleeved white shirt and a red band around her arm. From her black skirt to the leather jacket she was wearing to the fingerless leather gloves she had on her delicate hands (Uh, not that I was noticing that, mind you; bad brain!), the lady meant business, and whoever she was after was probably going to have to watch out.

She gives Cloud a solemn stare and Cloud, probably shocked that she was standing there, just stares back.

The woman wets her lips quietly before curling her hand up into a tight fist and snarling: "Cloud-!" The second she growls his name however, Cloud slams the door shut in her face, locks it and then scurries back into the living room where he grabs me and Ven by the arms.

"Uh... on second thought, how bout I take the boys to school? Alright, we've all agreed, I'm the escort this morning. Who wants shotgun on Fenrir?" He stammers rapidly, yanking both of us to our feet. Ven throws a backpack at me, shoving his own silver one back onto his back. I stare at the crimson backpack for a second before doing the same, wondering what the heck a Fenrir was and why it sounded so familiar.

"Cloud, they're not both going to fit on that stinkin' motorcycle!" Uncle Zack starts to protest as Cloud quickly leads us to a small hallway, which eventually led to a small room in the back of the house that apparently served as a garage. And trust me, the only thing small in there was the freakin' garage.

My eyes widen in both delight and a bit of horror as Cloud presses a button on his set of keys, making the hugest freakin' black motorcycle I've ever seen suddenly roar to life beside me. The bike practically purred with excitement over being ridden, its glossy black paint shivering with the possibility of being let out of its garage. With gleaming, golden exhaust pipes in the back, the four-wheeled monster hums quietly even as Ven lets out an excited shriek and runs over to the bike.

"Ohmy**_god_**, this is the coolest thing **_ever_**!" He declares, instantly becoming a fan of both the bike and its owner as he runs his fingers lovingly over the machine. Powerful and huge, the bike was built primarily for speed and efficiency, even if it was a little overboard.

As Ven runs his hands over a series of weird bulges on each the side of the bike, near the front wheels, Cloud comes over, calmly slaps Ven in the head and says: "No touching the bike. You do not go near the bike if I'm not around. You do not let Zack on the bike if I'm not there. You do not go on the bike if I'm not there and you do not mess with the bike unless it's under my supervision. If you touch the bike without supervision, if you even scratch the paint on Fenrir, if you even wear out the wheels a little bit or sit on it without my say so, you'll wish you'd never been born. And don't mess with the blade compartments, it took forever to get on those on there."

We both nod solemnly, Ven wilting at the idea that maybe he wouldn't get to ride on it. I on the other hand, stare curiously at Cloud, a little bewildered at the meaning of the longest sentence I'd ever heard him say. Blade compartments? What was that supposed to mean?

Apparently satisfied with scaring us into not handling the bike without "supervision" - insert sarcastic tone here – Cloud walks over to the side of the garage, picks up a small leather bag filled with what looked like mail and then … holy crap. Ven and I let out twin gasps of shock as Cloud calmly picks up a six-foot sword, bigger than both of us and looked like it weighed more than both of us, too, and slings it onto a mass of leather strips on his back that I hadn't noticed before, what I now recognized as a holster. He then puts on a pair of black goggles, throws two helmets at us and gets onto the bike.

"... What the hell are you waiting for?" He demands coldly after a few minutes of us just standing there in shock. I couldn't help but think that maybe I had finally gotten my question answered on just how Uncle was so strong; it would take both me and Ven and possibly Aunt Aerith just to _**lift **_that stinkin' sword, much less swing it around.

Ven gives me a glance before grinning happily and jumping onto the bike in the space in front of Cloud, just where the handlebars were. He shouts "Shotgun!" gleefully before flinching as Cloud calmly picks him up by the shoulders – without even getting off the bike, mind you – and tosses him off and lets him clatter to the floor.

"Hell no. That space is reserved and you annoy me. Now get that helmet on. … Sora, right? You're up here with me." Cloud states calmly as he pats the space in front of him. I turn scarlet and nod in embarrassment, putting on the helmet over my beanie and making sure my backpack was on my shoulders, I get onto the space, shifting in discomfort as I realize where I was and wish violently that I was in the back of the bike. Or better yet, that we could take a car. Ven whines a little bit about how he should get to steer the bike – was Cloud going to let me steer? Oh my god, we're going to crash, aren't we? - before Cloud tells him to shut up and get on the bike before he left him.

After Ven gets back on, with his helmet tightly strapped to his head, Cloud revs the engine a little, making both of scream in fright (me) and excitement (Ven). Within a second, the door to the garage slams open and the bike goes soaring through the air. With a loud screech, "Fenrir" grinds the pavement mercilessly, streaking off down the street even as Aerith tosses a small plastic box at Cloud – which, of course, he managed to catch – and the woman who had set Cloud running …. er, biking away from her shouts angrily at him as we pass her.

A few minutes later, we were already at least five miles away, zooming along and whooping (Ven, not me... Okay, so maybe I joined in after I decided I wasn't going to fall off) in excitement as Cloud absentmindedly tosses the mail into a bunch of boxes lining along the road where the apartment buildings were. Apparently, Cloud had some sort of delivery service.

All of a sudden, he skids to a stop and then calls out: "Olette," quietly to a group of kids who were just walking along. The spiky, blond haired boy gives Cloud (and us) a disdainful glare before adjusting the strap of the huge green, black and gray camouflage messenger bag. The other boy, a chubby but very kind looking kid who had a large red backpack on his back, smiles and gives us a friendly wave. I give him one back and he beams proudly, looking very pleased with me for some reason.

"Oh! Hello, Mr. Strife. Do I have any mail?" The only girl in the group says, and starts walking over to the bike calmly. I flinch away from her even as she strolls over, shaking nervously as Cloud hands her a bundle of letters and a small box.

"From your grandma. She says to visit soon." He tells the brunette girl calmly. She nods and takes the bundle, pulling them briefly to her heart before placing them carefully into the orange bag she had around her shoulders. I watch the little display curiously for a second before looking away the instant that her bright green eyes flicker to my face. Already I could feel both the hot red flush on my cheeks and the uncontrollable shivering I always got around girls. Dammit. I thought I got over this when we left the islands.

"Oh, thank you. Um… who are these two? Are they the boys that Miss Aerith was talking about?" Olette questions curiously, peering at both me and Ven curiously. Ven gives her a cocky grin before hopping off the bike and ripping the helmet off, revealing his spiky blonde hair.

"Hiya there! I'm Ventus! Pleased to meetcha, Olette! … Huh?" Ven suddenly stops his quick introduction, pausing when he notices the startled expressions on the trio's faces. Each and every one of them had a strange mixture of surprise and fear; the blonde kid glares violently at Ven, actually physically stepping between him and Olette even as the chubby kid stares at Ven.

"Hey… He's not… _**WOW! **_You look just like him! Are you a kind of doppelgänger or something? A living ghost?" The kid cheers, running up to Ven and staring at him in absolute awe. Ven laughs nervously before backing away from the chubby kid, skidding behind me and the bike, placing his hands on my shoulders as if to physically fend off the boy's probing brown gaze with my body. I give him an annoyed glance before pulling off the helmet myself and holding my hand out to the kid.

Another startled silence suddenly fills the air until the kid cheerfully places his hand in mine, shaking it enthusiastically as he says: "My name's Pence Marquette. Please to meetcha …. Um…. Whoever you are!" I nod and grin eagerly at him, already liking the kid. What can I say? He was nice.

"Can't you talk or something?" The grouchy blonde asks , flicking a strand of sandy blonde hair out of his face, the only one that seemed to had escaped his massive gel treatment to his hair. At least MINE was natural. I shake my head at him before Ven sending me skidding forward a few steps from smacking me so hard on the back. OW!

"He can, Sora just can't talk in front of weird people," Ven states calmly, giving the other blonde a savage glare, obviously ticked at how the kid had glared at him before. Geez… Ven was pissed. And did he mean strangers?

"Whaddya mean, **_WEIRD_**?" The blonde snarls angrily, stepping forward at Ven, no doubt about to attack him. Uh oh, this is not good. What should I do? I consider putting myself in front of Ven but before I could do so, the brunette suddenly speaks again.

"I'm Olette Hirasawa. This grump's Hayner, Hayner Cowden. It's nice to meet you both, Sora, Ventus." The girl suddenly chimes in, smiling brightly at both of us as she gently takes Ven's hand, shaking it before turning towards me, hand outstretched. I have enough time, giving it a good long look, to notice the bright shade of orange nail polish on her fingernails before I walk behind Pence and grab his arm, holding it up to her with a cheerful smile on my face. She looks startled (so did Pence) but she takes her friend's hand, shaking it with a giggle. "Hi Pence." She chuckles as Pence grins over his shoulder at me, obviously thinking it was funny. Hey, it might be funny to you, but… well, Olette was a girl. I didn't care if it was rude. I just didn't want bruises.

"Hi Olette! … You still didn't say your name, you know." He directs this last bit towards me, his dark brown eyes twinkling with a strange sort of curiosity. I hold my hands up defensively, smiling broadly to let him know that I wasn't going to tell him but then Ven steps in, thankfully.

"Oh, his name's Sora. Like I said before, I'm Ventus, his older brother. It's nice to meet you guys. Hmmm…. Olette, Pence and Hayner. Another trio!" He chuckles, giving them a big cheesy grin, looking very excited and happy. I give him a confused look before he turns that bright smile on me, making me sigh and look down at the ground, shaking my head. Sometimes I really didn't know what went on in my brother's head.

"So, are you guys going to the Academy with us? Um, Mr. Strife, I think we can take it from here if you want. I don't think that your bike can go up this street." Olette says kindly to Uncle Cloud, pointing up the narrow street that we were on. Cloud's eyes flicker up the street and he nods gruffly before tossing a small box at Hayner. Hayner manages to catch the box but fumbles with it, nearly dropping it. When he gives me a dirty glare, I couldn't help but chuckle.

"From Setzer. He says to stop bein' an ass and to call him for once. See you two later. Come to the Clock Tower when school's over. I'll… by which I mean, with Zack's munny…" Here he holds up a battered old black wallet, giving a very rare amused smirk to us. "Get you some ice cream. Bring these three along, too. Later." As Pence and Hayner cheer at him, no doubt excited by how they'd be getting free food, Cloud shoves his goggles back onto his eyes, gives Ven the finger (Ven laughed), and then drives off on Fenrir, showering Pence and Ven with grit from the street.

I stare at the quickly vanishing motorcycle, sighing as I turn to the trio. Already, Ven was being friendly and Olette was being nice to him. Hayner didn't look too pleased about that. Pence was chatting happily with both of them. I smile at this, already liking the three kids, even Olette. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all.


	8. Chapter Seven: Summer's Over

**Damn, this isn't as long as I'd like it to be, but hey, it's okay.**

**Disclaimer: still stands from first chapter. **

**I'm excited about the next chapter actually, this is gonna be fun to write.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Summer's Over<strong>

Holding his head in his hands, Thirteen blinks in confusion, struggling to remember the dream he had had before waking up. He knew that dream so well… and yet, he could never remember it. No matter how many countless times he'd dreamed it, he never remembered. It was so strange.

"I gotta get a grip…" Thirteen mutters darkly to himself, shaking his head firmly in order to force himself to get up. He really didn't want to get up. Like a lot of the other guys in the gang, he was a sleep til noon kinda guy. He hated the school days cause of this.

Lazily, he stumbles over to the dresser, still holding his head in his hand, and starts rummaging through it for some clothes. As he touches the hem of a black and white jacket hanging neatly in his closet, he remembered. School. Sighing, he realizes that he probably had to wear the uniform for the first day. That and cause the Superior would probably kick his ass if he saw him at school without it. Geez. Their leader was the freakin' principal and Superior still gave Thirteen grief. How was that fair?

Grumbling to himself about the "injustices" of actually knowing a teacher (or something like one) outside of school, Thirteen snatches the crisp white shirt off of its hanger inside of his closet and throws it on over the t-shirt he had slept in. Hey, he figured no one would see it, so who cared? In a similar fashion, he grabs his green slacks and shoves them on. Finally dressed, he runs a comb through his spiked golden hair for about a minute before going over to the next room, carefully creeping through the creaky hallway, expertly navigating his way on the old floorboards without making a noise.

After reaching a door with a large wooden heart ornament on it, he knocks loudly on it. No response. Thirteen rolls his eyes before grabbing the doorknob and twisting. Damn! She had locked the door again! He growls angrily before slamming his shoulder into the door, wincing in pain for a minute before slamming into the door again, trying to break in.

"… Whatcha doin'?" A sleepy voice asks from the room across the hall from the one Thirteen was trying to bust into. Naturally, since he was so focused on his task, Thirteen ignores Eight and keeps slamming into the door with his shoulder, growling soft threats at the occupant inside of the room. He _**KNEW **_she was awake, dammit! "Oh... she locked it again, huh? This should be fun." Eight says in that same exhausted voice, tinged now with a hint of amusement from watching the younger boy slam into the door so fiercely. Oh, it was so like him to enjoy this.

"Sis, open this damn door!" Thirteen growls angrily, pounding at the door with his clenched fist before pausing to wait for a response.

"Bite me!"

Oh, now he had had it. No more Mister Nice Blonde!

"YOU GET OUT OF THAT ROOM RIGHT NOW, SIS, BEFORE I PULL RANK ON YOU! THAT'S AN _**ORDER**_!" Thirteen shouts loudly, hammering on the door violently for a few more minutes before the door opens to reveal a sleepy-eyed girl clutching a small doll in her arms. She flings the doll at her older brother's face, nearly knocking him over from the sheer force she had put into her throw. He glares at her violently before grabbing her by the scruff of her heart-covered red t-shirt and dragging her back into the room, motioning for Eight to follow him. Eight blushes a little but runs into the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Reno just stares at his three young charges before asking: "Alright, what happened to you three?"<p>

Without pausing in their cereal eating, the two very bruised and scratched up boys point over to one very groomed but very angry girl sitting at the table, clutching her blue-skinned doll in her arms. She gives her brother (and her unofficial brother, too) a glare before grabbing a slice of toast off of the stack and gnawing at it moodily, spraying bread crumbs all over the doll.

"Ah. Shoulda figured." Reno says, shaking his head solemnly before going back to the toaster that he had been staring into when the trio came in and starts waiting for his toast to pop out. Breakfast was already on the table and all three kids were grateful for that; the first day of school always made them nauseous and food usually helped with the jitters.

"Reno, they attacked me and made me put on my uniform! Brother even threatened to take my doll away!" Fourteen says with an injured wince, cradling said doll to her chest protectively while giving her older brother an angry glare. Reno shakes his head at this, too, before handing all three of them elixirs. He knew from experience that within minutes of drinking the powerful medicinial drink that their bruises and swelling would disappear without a trace. He made a mental note to stock up on them since school had just started.

"You're not taking Shiva. You're too old to bring toy to school." Thirteen says bluntly, giving his little sister a glare through a now very swollen black eye, made from when she slammed a slippered foot into his face. It still stung. His sister gives him a hurt look but nods, cradling the plush girl to her chest helplessly, as if she was afraid to let go of it. Eight, after giving a table-rattling burp and nearly knocking his milk over, gives her a thoughtful look.

"Hey, don't you just sleep with that thing when you have those night- ooh." Eight chuckles sheepishly when both of the younger kids give him a dark glare and he quietly goes back to shoveling soggy Captain Dark-o's in his mouth. He doesn't even say a word when he nearly chokes on the prize in the cereal box, which had found its way into his bowl.

"Geez… you guys are too serious. Hey, Lea." Reno, the oldest in the "family" and the self-appointed father says with a smile, eager to give his younger brother some work to do that didn't involve jumping around on rooftops with bladed weapons.

"It's Axel. Got it memorized?" All three kids say in unison, each one not looking up from their breakfast. Reno groans and nods, giving each one of the kids a glare before softening a bit. Under each kid's eyes were dark rings, an obvious sign that they had been running around all night. For a moment, he was tempted to let them all go back to bed and make up some lame excuse for the school not to count them tardy. God knows, he had done it about a hundred times before last year, especially when it came to his little brother.

"… Right. Axel, Roxas, you two wanna help me out in the shop? We got some of those skateboards that you've wanted for a while to fix up…. After we fix them up, wanna take them for a spin?" He offers softly, smiling in a way that he knew was overly bright and obviously way too fake. Both boys glance at each other, obviously tempted to say yes but they shake their heads.

"Sorry. Meeting in the Gray Room today, bro. Maybe tomorrow?" He says hopefully, running his fingers through his mane of spiked red hair. Reno sighs but allows the boys to clear the table as they all start bickering on whether or not to take their "wheels" to school and where XIV leave the stupid lock and all sorts of normal things when all four of them knew that they weren't normal. Not in the least.

* * *

><p>As the trio lazily walks down the street, each one hampered with the lack of the good night's sleep that they should have gotten the night before, they all remain solemnly quiet, in respect for the school year that was about to begin and the learning that they would no doubt be receiving within a few minutes.<p>

"This fuckin sucks." Eight snaps moodily, his emerald eyes blinking blearily in his exhaustion. It seemed that they were just extremely tired. The twins, or as close as twins that they could be since they had only been born about ten months apart, nod in agreement. Fourteen looks around at the bright day, smiles a bit before braking, and simply stares at the peaceful little town on her bicycle, amused at how pretty everything was. The two boys, each riding their preferred skateboards, pause with her before sighing.

"Where'd summer go? I barely even got a taste… And then… Looks like my summer vacation is... over." Thirteen says sadly, shaking his head as he propels himself forward on his black and white skateboard, his dark blue eyes shadowed in misery. His friend gives him an amused smirk.

"You're taking this way too seriously, Rox. Geez. Chill out, ya zombie!" Eight says in amusement, playfully smacking his suddenly still best friend on the back. After a moment, after not hearing the annoyed growl of his buddy saying his name, Eight turns around and flinches.

Both kids were as pale as a sheet, each one shaking violently in horror. Fourteen's eyes were full of tears and Thirteen was frozen stiffly, unable to move. "Guys? What's wrong?" Eight asks in concern, stopping his momentum on his skateboard and hopping off of it, walking over to the two younger teenagers. Although his cheerful smile was still in place, Eight was full of concern for his two unofficial siblings. Even when he nudges Thirteen gently, the teen keeps still.

"Dan… Danger…." He murmurs softly as a loud rumble, something akin to an animal roaring, suddenly echoes from somewhere above them. Eight looks up; it sounded like it came from where the street leveled out at the train station. It was where they were heading to catch the train for school; it was also a place that was constantly monitored by their gang, and it was almost impossible for anything to be up there that shouldn't be. As he turns to tell his friends this, a flash of light suddenly engulfs the boy's hand as he and his sister shout in unison: "He's in danger!" As the duo runs off, Eight could only shout weakly after them as they charge up the street, each one already ready to fight. This was not going to be good.


	9. Chapter 8: Yet Another Train Ride

**Well, here's another chapter of Chasers.**

**I'm trying to milk the whole backstory mystery thing but don't worry folks; it'll start making sense soon.**

**Ah... the next chapter. **

**Yeah, I'm being a bit of a tease and _NOT_ placing the chapter that _SHOULD_ go after this one.**

**We need to introduce one more character before all the pieces start fitting together.**

**So as Ansem the Seeker of Darkness would say... **

**"KINGDOM HEEEEEARTS!" (is not mine.)**

**You heard him folks. **

**The man knows what he's talking about. **

**Enjoy!**

**Note to someone who'll get what I'm talking about: I _will_ ignore her death! She _will_ be in Kingdom Hearts!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Yet Another Train Ride<strong>

"So… what do we have to do again, Olette?" Ven asks curiously, peering into the ticket counter. The girl inside laughs nervously before adjusting her dark rimmed glasses and smiling professionally at Ven, as she had been doing for about ten minutes. I felt sorry for her; Ven kept asking Olette questions and confusing all three of them, when all he really wanted was the year long student passes for the train heading to the Academy.

"Um, just ask for the third option. That's the one for the whole school year." Olette says again and the ticket counter girl moves forward on her wheeled chair towards the computer to type in a few commands. Ven furrows his brow, making both me and the ticket counter girl wince. Uh oh.

"But the second looks cheaper." He says honestly, pointing up to that set of train passes. From the fierce scowl on the girl's face, it was all she could do to keep from reaching through the plastic shield in front of her, slipping her arm where the tickets are put and strangling Ven. Or maybe that was just my morbid imagination but I still grin. Either way, the image was hilarious.

"Sir, like I've told you… that one's only for six months. You would have to buy it again during the second semester. And also, the year long pass is on sale this time of the year; only 2000 munny." She says quietly, visibly shaking in anger. Ven still didn't look convinced. Alright, time to step in.

I hold up two fingers and point to the third set of train passes, slipping in a handful of munny into the slot. The girl looks at me as if I was some sort of angel, making me blush violently, as she grabs the munny and tosses it into a slot. Within minutes and an amazing show of really fast typing, she has me and Ven posing against a white background for the photo part of our new IDs.

"Blondie! Don't you move!" She snaps when Ven moves a fraction of an inch, making him freeze instantly in surprise. I grin and she nods, obviously approving my smile. "Good smile, short stuff, now keep that pose…" She mumbles to herself irritably as she holds an old camera up to face us. I try not to frown; short stuff? Really? I wasn't even that small!

"Say Central Station!" She commands with a friendly smile as Ven and I immediately adopt big goofy grins. Luckily for us, we were very photogenic. Came from the spiky hair.

"Central Station!" Ven shouts and I mumble it softly as the flash of the camera goes off, sending the computer whirring like crazy. The ticket counter girl grins as two small plastic cards slide out from a bulky printer. Swiftly boring a hole through both of them with some demonic/ginormous version of a stapler, she tosses one to Ven. Ven immediately snatches it out of the air, much to the applause of Pence and Olette. Hayner didn't care.

"Alright, for only fifty more munny, you get the lanyard for free. If not, you can just buy one at one of the stores down on Market Street or Tram Common. Thank you very much!" The girl says formally, bowing as she holds out my pass out to me. I blink in surprise before walking over, ignoring Hayner's and Ven's shouts to hurry up as they run off to check on the train. As I reach the window, she slides it out to me and smiles at me for a minute, before removing her glasses.

I immediately back away, stumbling over my own feet and falling to the ground, my mouth open in a silent scream. Those… those eyes!

Her eyes flash a strange metallic gold color in the sunlight as she says softly "Have a nice day." She shoves the ID onto me before sliding the glass window shut, shoving her glasses back onto her eyes and leaving the counter, no doubt to go do some other job in the Station.

For a few moments, I could only lie there on the floor, frozen stiff from fear. I knew those eyes, I knew them… Shaking violently, I try to stand up, only to topple over again.

* * *

><p>Clutching at my stomach, looking out the window of the train, it was all I could do not to throw up. The entire compartment was moving forward at breakneck speed (Thank you, Hayner, for telling me; twice.) and everything was a hazy blur as we went faster. I could only think about how fast it would be when it rained but Pence had told me that they normally didn't take the train to school when that happened. But my thoughts weren't on how fast the train was going. That girl… Who… who was she? Did I know her? It wasn't that she looked familiar… it was the eyes. Her eyes that were familiar. But… it was… I shiver. It was like looking into the eyes of a monster from my nightmares.<p>

"Gaaah! I _**hate **_the first day! Especially when I _**know **_I'm gonna be stuck in the same class as that no-good Seifer!" Hayner snarls again for the fifth time in under two minutes. Since everyone had been quietly doing something and ignoring him - Ven were looking at a travel book, planning out some sightseeing weekend while Olette was helping Pence with some last minutes homework - we all look up in surprise. Hayner was scowling, obviously angry at this Seifer guy. Pence and Olette exchange looks and they both sigh, shaking their heads at him. But Hayner wasn't finished. "I mean, seriously! Ever since we kicked his butt this summer, he's got it in for me and Rox-"

At the beginning of saying this name, Hayner freezes and his shoulders slump down as if in mourning. He looked very miserable, as if he had just lost his best friend. Olette coughs slightly, adjusting her wire framed reading glasses on her nose silently. Pence just looks out the window like a crestfallen puppy, shaking his head. Ven and I immediate become solemn ourselves because of them, feeling bad for whoever this "Rox" guy was. He'd probably died or something, from how serious these three were acting.

All of a sudden, I feel Ven scooting around on the bench we were sharing, crossing his legs and making a face. Huh?

"Uh… you guys know where a bathroom is?" Ven asks sheepishly, looking a bit uncomfortable. I resist the urge to hit myself. Or Ven. It wouldn't do either of us any good… why didn't he go before we left?

"Here, I'll take you, Ven. It's kinda hard to find." Olette says softly, the solemnity broken now. She points up towards the door of the train compartment and Ven gives her a whimpering smile before holding his arm out to her and allowing her to lead him off. Hayner didn't look too pleased at this.

The second that they both leave, Hayner's and Pence's attention immediately snaps over to me. I jump in surprise, wilting a little at the intensity of their glares, my train of thoughts immediately derailing. This was not going to be good.

"So… Sora… What's up with you and Ven? You two really brothers?" Hayner asks curiously, tugging on a lock of blonde hair in emphasis, looking at my dark brown hair. I nod before slipping my hand into my backpack, which was lying open in the seat next to me. They stare at the bag for a minute before I feel and finally find what I was looking for. It would figure that my wallet would be all the way in the bottom. I snatch it up and hold it out to them, picture pocket open to them. They lean in and their eyes widen at the photo.

"Whoa, so that's your family! … Huh. Ven looks just like your dad. So do you, but you must have got the brown hair from your mom." Pence muses, elbowing Hayner out of the way so he could get a better squint at my dad. Hayner shoves him right back, nearly knocking the younger boy off of his seat. He gives the picture a good look, smiling a little.

"Who are these two at the bottom with you? They don't look like they're related to you." Hayner comments, jabbing a finger at the bottom half of the picture. I smile, looking at the other little boy and the little girl in the picture. The older boy had half of his silvery hair in his face while I was scrambling around at the bottom of the picture, in the sand, trying to get away from him.

From what I remembered, Riku had been trying to get me back for putting a hermit crab into his shorts just before we took the picture before this one. Hence, why he was trying to punch me in this one.

The girl, Kairi, was just looking on in confusion, wondering why we were fighting. Her hand was stretched out but it looked like she was debating on whether or not to help us.

My dad was roaring with laughter at the top of the picture, one hand running through his spiky blonde hair and the other holding his stomach. My mom wasn't so happy and she was trying to shove us apart. It was my favorite picture in the whole world, because it _**had **_my whole world in it.

I freeze, feeling the familiar sadness in my heart. It was weird, every single person in this picture was lost to me….

"Why isn't Ven in this one?" Pence asks from the floor, hugging one of his knees to his chest curiously. I shrug, wondering how to mime that he was at a private school when I was little. It was kinda hard… and quite frankly, I didn't like the idea I had to motion "private"…. After a few minutes of silence, they simply drop the subject and Hayner gives me back my wallet which I shove back into my backpack. I glance out the window, sighing softly as Pence and Hayner start talking about something called "Struggle" which Hayner seemed really excited about and Pence couldn't care less.

Watching hazy greenish brown blurs streak by the window, again I couldn't help but get the feeling that I was watching something for the second time. A sort of déjà vu. It was creepy. I silently count under my breath, one, two, three, before mouthing the words "Station Three". I flick a finger up towards a small grate in the wall.

"Station Three! All passengers bound for Station Three, The Beast's Castle, all boarding!" A loud speaker suddenly shouts from said grate, making all three of us jump. My heart started pounding loudly, making me clutch at my chest in surprise. Pence flashes me a smile, still talking to Hayner but he's kind enough to flash five fingers at me, showing me that our stop was going to be soon. Great. Thanks, Pence.

I shift nervously in my seat, wondering where the hell Ven and Olette were. They'd been in the bathroom for at least ten minutes. What was taking them so long? I sigh, leaning back in my seat, closing my eyes. I frown again, thinking about the ticket counter girl. Those eyes… I remembered them from somewhere…

"…Heartless."

Whoa, what?

My head immediately whips towards Hayner and Pence, staring at them in confusion. Hayner shakes his head, sighing.

"Look, I don't care about those things. As long as they stay in their own goddamn place, I'm happy. We have bigger problems to worry bout. You know, like Seifer and the other Disciplinary Jerks? Not to mention the Organization guys. They're still pissed at us for this summer." Hayner says bluntly, shaking his head again, completely dismissing the problem. Pence groans.

"But don't you want to know what they are? I mean, we only know what they're called, not why they're so dangerous. And we only know that part from Master Leonhart and that was cause Olette accidentally eavesdropped on him and Miss Heartilly." Pence says curiously, tapping his temple with his index finger as he stares out the window, a far away look in his eyes.

Hayner rolls his eyes, groaning.

"I don't care, I said! I'm fine with those little shadow blobs as long as they stay in Hallow Bastion!" He growls, glaring at his friend. From the angry expression he had, he obviously wanted Pence to drop it. Geez, Hayner was cranky. But… the Heartless… That sounded familiar. Then it suddenly clicked. The girl had the same eyes as the Heartless!

"Ah! That's where!" I gasp, suddenly remembering how the little shadows looked like, remembering from some vague class back on the Islands. I had always thought that the strange little Shadows looked familiar but I never thought about why. I sit up a bit straighter, getting up. Hayner and Pence keep staring at me.

"… Did he just talk? Didn't Ven say he was mute?" Hayner asks Pence curiously as I leave the train compartment, sliding the door closed behind me. I didn't know why but I had a sudden instinct to find Ven. And usually, my instincts were more or less right. I head off up the corridor, adjusting my black beanie on my head as I walk until my hair was completely covered. It was a nervous habit of mine when I wore hats…

I start trailing a hand over the compartment doors, silently counting them to myself before pausing in front of one of them. Closing my eyes, I could hear loud raucous laughter coming from inside. From the voices, there were mostly guys in there but I could distinctly hear one feminine voice.

'_It's time...' _A voice seems to whisper in my mind, guiding my hand to the latch, gripping it tightly beneath my fingers. _'Don't forget, Sora: You are the one who will open the door.'_

_**I remember you; do you still remember me? **_

A child's… voice?

I frown. Only one way to find out what all this stuff meant.

I slide the door open.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, since I'm gonna be concentrating on this story, update will be within a few weeksdays.**

**You have my solemn promise to update before... the tenth of October!**

**That should give me enough time!**


	10. Chapter Nine: Starry Starry Night

**You know, I find it amazing that despite all of the one-shots I have for this, I haven't updated.**

**Seriously, my mind amazed me... for being so stupid.**

**Anyway, Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and everything else is not mine but the idea is, more or less.**

**Now, I'd like to apologize for not updating my fics, yadda yadda yadda... and to say that this chapter was NOT going to be the ninth one.**

**But hey, I like these guys and have decided to put the bad guys' cameo later.**

**So enjoy, whoever's reading this!**

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><p>Chapter Nine: Starry Starry Night<p>

The two teenagers step silently into the darkened room, treading softly on the shadows of the empty cottage. All around them, the images of a once happy life were present in the forms of weathered pictures in equally as old picture frames. The girl picks one of them up, even as the boy moves on ahead of her, motioning for the girl to stay in the living room. She nods to his unspoken order, admiring the picture in the frame quietly.

A soft smile appears on her face as she traces the image of a little boy standing beside a pier with two other little kids at his side. All three of them were covered in sand, looked like they were completely soaked and each had variations of the same happy smile on their faces. The oldest one, a little boy with light silvery hair wearing bright yellow, was smirking proudly as he held up a large fish up to the camera, obviously happy with the catch of the day. The other little boy, a brunet with spiky hair, grinned up with a much smaller, but equally as coveted, fish in his hand. The little girl had nothing in her hands except for a bright red starfish, which she was playfully sticking onto her friend's cheek, making the younger boy laugh that much harder. They all looked radiantly happy, content with the simple pleasures of childhood and of each other's company.

They had been happy, hadn't they? Once upon a time…

"GODDAMN IT!" A savage snarl suddenly rips through the silence, making the girl jump and hold the picture frame to the front of her pink dress in surprise. Her solemn violet-blue eyes immediately flicker to her silver-haired companion. The boy's blue-green eyes were full of anger, his entire body shaking violently as he restrains himself from moving. It looked as if it was taking an extreme effort to keep himself so still, an obvious by-product of the intense training that he had been through with their teachers.

"What is it?" The girl asks softly, suddenly alert to her surroundings. As she holds her hand out to her side, a small ball of crimson flame suddenly appears in her hands, slowly trickling down the girl's slender fingers as she looks around cautiously. Where the flames drip onto the wooden floor, a very tiny but very hot fire starts before it's suddenly snuffed out by the girl's sheer control over her ability. Even when the flames burn a harsh shade of cobalt, they didn't seem to hurt her. In fact, her skin wasn't even the least bit singed.

"They're _**gone**_!" The boy hisses back, looking absolutely furious. The girl immediately relaxes, mentally causes the flames in her palm to go out before walking over to him, placing a gentle and soothing hand on his shoulder. The boy's face turns a shade or two redder but his sorrow was still inconsolable. It had been obvious that he had been waiting to see someone, someone for the first time in years, but not being able to was almost too much to bear. The girl hums softly to him, stroking his shoulder in a friendly and calming way. But the boy remains still, silent in his misery.

After a few minutes of this treatment, the girl murmurs: "We knew they'd be gone, Riku. That's why we registered at the Academy a few months ago, remember?" The boy gives her a slow nod before collapsing onto the ancient couch, older than he was and made to look even older due to the abuse of one happy, go lucky family. The girl continues: "And well, we'll be able to see him at school. The Master told us that Sora and Ventus were registered yesterday while we were off on a mission-"

"But he's supposed to be _**here**_, Kairi! Always! This is where he's _**supposed **_to be!" A choked voice comes out of the boy's lips as the girl steps back a step in surprise, not expecting to see her valiant friend in tears. He hides his face in his palms, shaking his head slowly. When he finally lifts his head from his hands, the girl could see the puffy red swelling around his eyes that he always got from crying.

"This is where Sora's supposed to be," He continues in a calmer voice, though he had began to tremble a little from the force of the memories that he was reliving while sitting in the house of his beloved friend, "This is where Sora always sat and where we would always meet before going off to play. This is where Mrs. Minami always put out that huge plate of cookies and ice cream and brownies and all that other junk food that she packed into us… I knew Mrs. M more than I knew my own mom. I loved her like I should have loved my mom. And I loved Sora more like a brother. He was my own little goofball of a brother." The boy smiles sadly as he looks up at the room, the phantasms of his memories moving around the room in the shape of a little boy in red shorts and the image of a woman with a loving smile, each one saying his name or waving or scolding him for something he had done wrong, depending on the memory.

In unison, the pair says: "But now they're gone."

With these words, a final sense of solemnity seems to disperse itself around the room, as if it was the last nail in a coffin, burying the happy memories forever.

The boy winces as if feeling physical pain at this, pain at knowing that his best friend would most likely never come back to this cottage, never return home. It was a horrible feeling, knowing that a person that should always be there for you disappeared completely from where they were supposed to be. It was like the world had suddenly gone slightly off-kilter, making everything that once seemed right wrong and everything that had been wrong had been made strangely and frighteningly right. It was a terrifying feeling and the boy only wanted his world to be put right back to the way it had been before.

But there was no way for that to happen anymore.

The boy's right hand clenches into a fist on top of his knee as he snatches a picture off of a small end table and shoves it into his pocket, glaring at the girl as if daring her to say anything. She just shakes her head before pocketing the small picture she had been looking at before and holding her hand out to him. The boy gives her a solemn glare from the couch, not understanding her gesture.

"Let's not go yet, Riku. I think we should bring Sora something from home. So he won't be as homesick as you are." She says with a gentle smile on her face, smiling that much more broadly when her friend nods. He gets up, brushes his navy pants off before motioning over to a wide open door, open to what looked like a child's bedroom.

Inside, they could see a huge collection of dirty clothes and plenty of other miscellaneous junk littering the floor. A chuckle and a giggle sound out from the room as they look into Sora's room, each having at least one happy memory - whether beating the pants off of the hyper brunet's in a challenging video game after a grueling training session or simply lying in the bed with a snoring ten year old, happily poking him and getting a funny reaction from him - of that room.

"I think I already know just what to bring, Kairi." The boy says with a slightly mischievous smile, which would have looked sweet on their friend's face but looked absolutely devilish on the solemn teenager. The girl nods happily, having a fairly good idea of what he might take.

* * *

><p>After he had wrapped the present up in a plastic bag he had "salvaged" from the kitchen, there was nothing more for the teens to do but to leave the island cottage. Shutting the door silently behind them, the pair simply walks out, walking idly up the main street where the small house was located.<p>

The only noise in the silent night was the rustling of the plastic bag as it bounced ceaselessly against his thigh and the almost imperceptible footsteps of the two kids. With solemn but nostalgic eyes, they observed the peaceful island night, kicking up sand with every silent step. Their hands remained clasped, held as glances were reluctantly passed between them, each one containing yet another memory and story.

They knew that in just over an hour, they would be awash in bright sunshine, the glow of another world and maybe… just maybe… their beloved friend would be there with them, too.

All they could hope was to get there in time.


	11. Chapter Ten: Is This For Real Or Not?

**... I'm not dead.**

**Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and as a result, Disney, do not belong to me.**

**If they did, I would put in Wolverine into KHIII. Just saying.**

**Who would not laugh at that?**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 10: Is This For Real... Or Not?<span>

I stare at the segment of fine metal chain intertwined between the girl's slender fingers for a moment, silently debating to myself on what to do. Her fingers were thin and a pallid white color, almost like her skin was actually transparent and that I was really looking through it, at her bones. They were that pale and that thin. She had virtually no weight on her, a wisp of a little girl with nothing but the solemnity holding her to earth. When I look up into her serene blue-violet eyes, there's nothing in them but the faintest hint of the ocean and of a promise long forgotten. It's an encouraging look, like she was asking me to take the chain from her, like there was some big special secret about what she offered out to me. I gulp nervously, my cheeks beginning to burn a fiery red in the presence of this strange, serious girl.

The girl smiles knowingly, as if fully understanding what my problem was, why I was being so silent, why I was being hesitant. It's like she knows, even though I don't even know myself. "It's okay, Sora," her voice was like the waves of my island, soft and serene, but hiding the dark undertones beneath, "Don't be afraid." She murmurs in a gentle but kind voice. Miss, I'm not scared, I'm freakin' terrified. She places her hand on my shoulder carefully, as if assuring me that everything would be okay. Now normally, I don't like contact – especially from members of the opposite gender – but her touch was warm, kind. Reassuring. Like a mother's hand soothing her infant's tears away. I look back at the delicate chain clenched in her hand and watch silently as each individual link begins to glow. It was like the color of sunshine, colorless but a pale shade of the most beautiful golden color you could imagine. It was... like looking at home. The light, despite how faint it was, left bright spots in my vision, strange contorting lights that flickered from view when I tried to look at them.

Despite how pretty the gleaming chain was, there was something weird about it, something that just rubbed me the wrong way. The feeling of wrongness was like remembering as a baby when you touched the pretty coals of a fire, only to find out that the beautiful light would burn you, char your skin and melt it off into a world of throbbing pain. There's just something totally weird about it, something just... bizarre. It glows in the girl's hand and despite that little-kid-remembering-burning-his-hand-off feeling, never-mind that every ounce of common sense that I had starts warning me to get the hell away from the weird chain and the girl who wielded it, I automatically reach up for it.

I can feel my heart pounding – either with excitement or fear I didn't know – and I watch my fingertips tremble slightly. I was afraid... but of what?

The girl smiles then nods at me, her warm blue-violet eyes peering into mine. My heart suddenly begins to beat that much faster, my skin beginning to burn with the knowledge that I had suddenly remembered. I know this girl.

"It's okay, Sora," She repeats soothingly, her hand clenching slightly on my shoulder in encouragement. "You won't disappear... You'll be whole." The sound of her conviction, of her faith in me, echoes in her soft sweet voice, like a balm to all my doubts even though I had no idea what they were. Her pale blonde hair falls over like a curtain over her beautiful eyes, encouraging the impression... I remember a warmer smile than hers, a girl with the same but completely different bluish eyes... those beautiful oceanic eyes... The girl who had been my friend since we were both little... this girl reminded me of her... but this girl's name was...

The moment that her fingers touch my wrist, I reach up and grasp her other hand in mine, clenching at her and at the first link of the glowing chain intertwined in her fingers.

**(***)**

It's like dreaming. It's like remembering. My eyes are open but it's like... they're closed, for all the good that they do me. All around me, there is nothing but cold and empty darkness. Nothing but shadows as I fall down... down... down into the darkness. There's this overpowering sensation of loneliness and sadness... like going to a funeral... where the person who died was someone you dearly loved. … But... there's something... else... something I have to... The girl... the one with the sunshine in her... there's something I have to... remember...? Is any of this for real? Or... not?

"Hey, Sora! Are you even listening anymore?" She demands with an amused laugh, giving me a curious nudge. I blush slightly, startled out of my reverie by the soft, almost musical, sound of her gentle voice. It takes me a moment to remember where I was – at the paopu tree out by the Kids' Island – , looking out at the sunset with my two best friends. Something inside me seems to melt at the sight of the glowing red-orange orb falling slowly into the ocean, as if being swallowed up by it, and the glow that the setting sun gave to my friends. For once, it was peaceful, relaxing even, to just sit there on that tree trunk and do nothing except watch. From the serene expressions on Kairi's and Riku's faces, it was obvious they thought so, too.

I give Kairi a sheepish grin and shrug as the girl at my side lets out another peal of high-pitched, melodic laughter. She almost falls off the tree, and would have succeeded if not for Riku quickly grabbing her arm and dragging her forward. The laughter turns her face bright pink, the shade of her dress, and her short red hair gets almost as spiked up as my own messy mane. I blush even harder, embarrassed at having been caught by the all-too perceptive Kairi. Riku gives me a solemn look, as if seriously asking what the hell I had done to make her laugh so hard. I shrug again and it's his turn to laugh, though his laughter was much more subdued, just like he was. Where Kairi was full-out passion and laughter, Riku was serenity and solemnity, they were basically the total opposites of each other.

That was what I loved about them.

I begin to answer Kairi's question when she finally hiccups to a stop. Just as I begin to form the words on my tongue, after giving it a little thought, she reaches out and raps against the top of my head with her knuckles, her violet-blue eyes glittering mischievously in the afternoon sunlight. "Heeeelllllllloooo! Kairi to Sora, come in, Sora, we've lost you, Sora! Anybody home?" She calls out loudly in my ear, laughing again even as I jump back, holding the side of my head – she sure has a loud voice! – and I give her a glare, scowling even as she goes into another fit of laughter. "Geez, give me a break, Kairi!" I protest as I rub the now throbbing spot on my head, sighing. She needs to control her strength... not like it hurt or anything.

Riku chuckles softly as he sits up from his spot near the tree's tangled roots, removing the partly-chewed grass stalk he had in his mouth from his lips. He gives the giggling girl an amused look before smiling solemnly, shaking his head at Kairi and me as if scolding the both of us. We both give him a glare, though we were both grinning. "It's not his fault, Kai," Riku comments idly, lying back down, his back resting on the tree roots, "Sora's got a lot on his mind... for once." He smirks as I turn red. Gee, some best friend you turned out to be! Riku laughs, almost as if he heard my thoughts. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he turned telepathic.

But he was right, despite the teasing tone of his voice. I do have a lot to think about. Kairi and Riku become quiet as I do. Sighing softly, I remember that **he** would be coming to the island soon. My older brother. What would it be like, having a sibling again? I had been an only child for most of my life, while he was off at boarding school or whatever it was. My family was me, my mom, my dad and Riku and Kairi. I never even knew Ven. "Yeah... Ven's coming back." I murmur in agreement, frowning a little at the prospect of his return. It wasn't like I knew him all that well either... but... he was still my brother.

"Cheer up, Sora, it could be worse. At least it's only a visit," Riku says thoughtfully, his tone solemn but I knew he was thinking about it. I look over at him and sigh at the spark of mischief suddenly in his expression, almost imperceptible to anyone who didn't know him. "But..." He continues, smirking darkly – and I mean darkly, when this guy makes an evil expression, it looks freakin' **evil** – at the thought he just had. "We **could** make it a visit he never forgets." He chuckles lowly, rubbing his hands together as though he was some sort of diabolical genius mastermind. With his pale silver hair and his dark blue eyes, he could be one... but like, in high school. I could only wonder what he was hatching up in that silvery head of his, and wonder how much trouble would we get into because of it. Again.

"Let's throw him a surprise party!" Kairi suddenly says, making both of us turn to look at her. "You know, like a birthday party... but for his coming here. That'll make him feel welcome." She says honestly, blushing slightly at the confused looks we're giving her. Riku and me give each other a glance before mimicking the same gesture, cupping our hands over our chins, our thumbs resting on our lips. We grin and say in the same goofy voice: "That's just fine!" Kairi laughs. "Well, then it's settled! We're throwing Ven a party!" Kairi says eagerly, no doubt curious about my mysterious older brother. … So was I...

"So... on a different topic... what do you think that they wanted to talk to us about?" I ask, not really wanting to talk about Ven right now. Kairi shrugs and Riku only pops his grass stalk back in his mouth. I sigh. Great. Yet another thing that the adults were keeping from us. "It's not like we're little kids anymore... We can be trusted... we have been before, right, Riku?" I grumble moodily, scowling. Riku nods but frowns. "Who knows? But you know that he thinks it's important." He comments. I sigh, shaking my head in the memory. But from somewhere within me, I felt confused. Who thought what was important? But Riku keeps talking: "And you know... he's always got a reason to think that way." Riku finishes, chewing on his grass stalk thoughtfully, showing that he's done with the conversation and that I shouldn't ask any more questions.

I lean back on the tree trunk, my mind reeling with questions. I close my eyes and sigh, wondering just what the King was keeping from me this time. It wasn't like I was a little kid anymore... I didn't have to be protected like this...

"Sora."

I sit up, startled by the sudden crunch of sand and the creaking noises of the old wooden bridge that connected this smaller island to the Kids' Island. It made those loud creaking noises every time the slightest pressure was put on it. Someone was coming. I sit up, looking out at the bridge... to find... Riku growls, getting up. "What the heck are **you** doing here?" He demands coldly, his eyes glaring threateningly at the solemn looking girl who continues to walk towards, undeterred by my older friend's growls. Where even the toughest kids on our island would back off, the small girl just walks past Riku, heading straight for... me.

"_Sora,"_ She says softly, her pale hands clenching at the skirt of her white dress. Her dark blue-violet eyes glitter thoughtfully in the fading sunlight, almost as if she was about to cry or she had just stopped crying. She holds a hand out to me and I look up at her. _"It's time to wake up, Sora."_ She says softly.

"_This is only a dream."_

"Who are you?" I ask in confusion, standing up and taking her hand in mine. It was like... I knew her. Riku definitely knew her... but where did I know her? She just smiles and closes my eyes with her other hand. There's a strange sort of pressure on my eyes as I feel a hard shape beneath my body, almost like I was lying on a very hard mattress.

"_You know my name, Sora."_

"Station Five! All passengers bound for Station Five, Twilight Academy, all boarding!"

_I could feel a name at the tip of my tongue: a name that I really didn't remember, but it was the name of a person I couldn't forget..._

**(***)**

I blink sleepily up at the ceiling, I vaguely register that I was on my back and that I 'm looking up at the white tile-covered ceiling of the compartment I was in. I fell asleep... When did I go to sleep? I blink sleepily, letting out a very loud yawn, feeling so tired for some reason... like I hadn't slept for days or like I just lost a lot of energy. My limbs actually felt like they had been popped out, stuffed full of lead, and then screwed back in as I slept. That's how weak I feel... God, I need to stop eating so much sugar. I guess... it gives me weird dreams.

I begin to sit up on the stiff foam seat, frowning slightly. This is my stop... great... I look down to pick up my-

Oh shit.

At my feet, where I normally have my stuff, there was nothing but empty air and a tiny dust-ball. Where. The. Heck. Was. My. BAG? I leap out of the seat, ignoring that I just heard how loud my joints popped violently in protest to the sudden movement – OWWWW – but I still didn't see my backpack.

I glance out the window and see several teenagers – some of them were about my size and age – already leaving the train, backpacks on their shoulders, surly looks on their faces, and books already in their arms. They were off to school... and I still wasn't. I run my fingers through my bangs, hissing in anger at having lost my backpack. Shit. I was so dead if I didn't get off this train soon. It would go to who knows where and with me on board. But where the hell was my bag? Did I bring it with me when I went exploring? The fragmented dreams echo eerily in my head, like I was some sort of broken radio. I keep hearing my friends' voices, Riku's serene murmur and Kairi's teasing laughter... I keep hearing that girl... who was that girl...?

"This... really sucks." I mumble to myself as I jump off of the seat, kneeling on the floor on my hands to peer under the seat and begin to focus on what was important: my backpack. It could be under there, I've lost a few backpacks that way -… Ew. The underside of the seat was cover in little spot of gray gum, like a messed up (and gross) version of the night sky, all lightly dusted over with a centimeter-thick layer of dust. They really should clean that gum out of here. There's practically a constellation of chunks of chewed up of plastic-y gum in here. I groan, not seeing anything except... wait a second.

I reach in, trying not to whimper as my hand brushes against both hardened and still sticky pieces of gum – it feels so... freakin' gross – and my fingers curl around a small sphere, a little bigger than one of the shooter marbles I used to have when I was little, about an inch or so in diameter. I yank it out and immediately sneeze, snorting a bit as the dust goes up my nose. I sneeze again, sending a loud snort echoing through the chamber, my eyes and nose beginning to water. I hate dust... Yet my room at home is covered in it... I wipe my nose on my sleeve and look at the little crystal I had pulled out. As I hold it up to the sunlight to look at it clearly, a shaft of sunlight goes through it, lighting it up from the inside. I smile slightly, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia at seeing the tiny blue marble light up like that, almost as if I was holding a glowing sapphire in my hand.

It was... strangely familiar... as if I had seen it before, somewhere in a forgotten dream.

I feel a tear trickle down my cheek as a hand suddenly touches my shoulder, a loud thud echoing throughout the empty compartment as my backpack drops heavily to the floor. I turn around and stare at the girl in the black jacket who had brought it to me. She bows her head at me silently, as if trying to be respectful. Her dark hair hides her expression as the younger girl straightens up, tugging the oversized coat around her a bit more before she straightens up into a sort of – there was no other word to describe how she leaned against the door – in a "guarding" position. She looks at me calmly, a blank expression on her face.

I stare at her in surprise before bending down to my bag: I quickly make myself busy with unzipping the bag and shoving my hand inside, quickly feeling through my things to see if anything was missing. My finger brush against my binder, some books, a game system if I was bored, OUCH, that was my pencil, sharpener and pens. Yup. Everything's here. I look up at the girl expectantly, wondering what she wanted. She stares at me with that same blank stare, like I was something mildly interesting under a microscope. It was kinda creepy.

She frowns, as if she heard what I was thinking. "You're... Sora? Hayner told me to give that to you," the girl motions to the bag. The way she talks was kinda weird, a bizarre clumsiness that reminded me of someone who had been sick for a while and was only now beginning to recover. "You left it in their compartment. … He said to take you to the gates for him... your brother is waiting for you out there." She continues in a dull tone, flicking a wayward strand of black hair out of her face before giving me a vague smile and pointing out the window.

She nods before blinking in surprise, staring at me. Huh? I stare at her before wiping the worst of the dust off of my button-down. "...Sora..." She murmurs softly to herself before grabbing my wrist. Huh? She yanks me towards the door, a strange look appearing on her face as she starts dragging me down the corridor. What the hell?

"I... remember... something..." She mutters darkly to herself, flashing me a serious look. She clutches at her head, her hand grabbing a fistful of hair near her temple. I freeze and nod, recognizing the pained look from somewhere; she looked like she was about to faint from the intensity of whatever she was remembering. I don't really know why, but there was something strange about her. Like she knew something that I didn't, a feeling that I got a lot lately. There was something wrong... and only she knew what it was.

It looked like I had to trust her.

The younger girl quickly leads me through the hallway, her solemn expression slowly growing more and more concerned. Several times, she stops and opens up one of the compartments we pass and peers inside. Whatever she saw, it made her upset, because each time she would slam the door shut again and keep going, dragging me by the wrist all the while. I try to look inside too but she moves too fast for a fourteen year old – I'm guessing by the girl's size, she seems several years younger than I am – and she keeps a very powerful grip on my arm, the kind of hold I would expect from like, a professional arm-wrestler or something but not a little girl.

Just as I begin to summon up the courage to tell her to stop and to ask her what the hell was going on, she pauses in front of a door and glares inside. She sighs and turns to me.

"Alright. Who are you?" She demands in a cold voice, her dark blue eyes seeming to pierce right through me, sending a dagger of ice straight through my heart. I gulp nervously, completely clueless on what to say to the girl. I mean, I don't know her from Eve but now I have to talk to her? Seriously, where was the class on how to talk to girls and why did I miss it? I begin to brood silently, trying to figure out a way to mime my predicament to her, tell her that I just fell asleep in that compartment – and had really weird freakin' dreams – but I stop in the middle of my hand gesture.

Her face just flickered. K... She was...

I stare at her in shock but she only turns back down the hallway, running her fingers through her cropped black hair. She sighs softly. "...Then I guess I have no choice. Come on, Sora, I'll walk you to class. Twilight Academy's a big school," She suddenly says in a much more friendly voice, giving me an almost sweet, child-like smile. I give her back a scowl but follow her when she starts walking past the compartments towards what I guessed was the exit. "I'm guessing you're not from around here." The girl comments quietly as she pulls her over-sized jacket closer around herself, seemingly hiding herself from my view as she walked. She pulls up her hood, furthering the impression of hiding herself in shadows to escape notice.

I nod at her question and the girl smiles. "Maybe your hometown is a lot nicer than mine, Sora. … I wouldn't doubt it, actually." She says in a suddenly much more gloomy voice, making me give her a surprised look. I sigh and scratch at my hair, annoyed. God, girls are seriously temperamental. Five seconds ago she was smiling at me and now she looks like I just drowned her goldfish in front of her. Geez... As I wonder what to say to her (god, I was gonna have to talk to her, right? This was going to suck...) to make her feel better, the girl stops and suddenly laughs. I jump, startled. Ooo...kaaaay... I'm walking with a psycho apparently.

"Won't Roxas be surprised to find out who you are... mmm... I don't think I ever introduced myself, right?" The girl asks, smiling brightly again. I shake my head no and she continues: "Well, my name is Xion Arugami. It's nice to meet you." She introduces herself in a soft voice, holding her hand out to me as if to shake it. I just stare at her gloved palm, feeling... something... weird... Goddamn it, I hate girls sometimes. I take her hand in mine and shake it briskly, wincing visibly. She laughs. "Oh wow, you're such a baby. I didn't expect that!" She laughs, looking at me in amusement. I'm not amused.

In fact, I really want to know how to get rid of this Xion girl. I mean, really. She's annoying. She giggles softly, as if hearing my thoughts. The second I give her a glare, she looks away, a really annoying sort of smirk on her lips. Man, I want to punch her. Does that make me a bad person? I don't think so. Xion sighs softly, still smiling as she turns to me. "Well, Sora, I guess I should explain to you about the school, huh?" She asks curiously, looking at me as if wanting my permission to go on. She sure does talk a lot.

When I don't answer, she starts listing off about the different buildings in the school – I have the feeling I'm going to get lost now – and says that: "There's three buildings in the school, the main hall which is called Kingdom Hall, the elective building, called Oathkeeper Building, and the History, Science and Gym building called the Oblivion Gymnasium. Each one has three to four floors, with Kingdom Hall being the largest with four floors. Do you have your schedule?" She asks quickly, pausing for a breath. … Um... What the hell is up with this goddamn school? I shake my head no and she goes rattling off again. "Well, you're going to have to go to the office. It's connected to Kingdom Hall. It's this little connected building, you won't be able to miss it. Go straight there and then ask one of the counselors for your schedule. Go now, actually. This IS our stop after all." She says as she nimbly jumps out of the train door, landing gracefully on the sidewalk. I just walk out and look up at my new school.

I nearly have a heart attack.

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><p><strong>Uh... I don't know what this is...<strong>

**My absence is only because I was trying to fix this chapter and was fighting with my friend...**

**So to everyone, my apologies, please review, do not flame me, and Xion is a badass in my humble opinion.**

**-Forbidden**


	12. Chapter Eleven: In Which Psychos Roam

**Obviously it's been a while, so this is a little rough.  
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**Just would like you readers (Hi) that I'm not dead and that I'm developing this story. Hence, long chapter, several months work here. Enjoy... if you dare... MWAHAHAHA!**

**Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts is not mine, neither is Final Fantasy, but the idea is mine. Booya. I own an idea.  
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* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11: In Which Psychos Roam<strong>

The place was freakin' huge. It was the size of something like a Blitzball arena. One of those giant arenas that could hold several thousand people and several thousands of gallons of water without breaking a metaphorical sweat? Well, this school freakin' competes with it. It could probably beat it. Each one of the three marble buildings was enormous, easily taking up the entire area of my hometown and each had about three or four floors – just like Xion said! Man, I wish she wasn't right – and they all looked like they had like two hundred rooms on each floor. I lean against the fence, feeling a dizzy sort of confusion overtake my poor overtaxed brain.

I feel like I might pass out, actually.

Xion looks over at me and grins. "Oh, you don't have to run all over the campus, Sora. You're a second year like my brother. You get the Oathkeeper Building," She says, flicking a finger in the direction of one of the buildings. "It's where we hold all the electives. The second years get all their classes except gym in there." She tells me with an amused expression, obviously understanding what I was thinking. I shiver but nod at her, looking up at the buildings. From what little I could see on them, there were three separate emblems on the buildings, like a code. One had a five-petal flower thing, the other a black crown, and the final one had a silver crown. So... which was which?

Xion taps my shoulder and points to each of the buildings, quietly naming them all for me in a vaguely disappointed voice. It's almost like she thought I would have known them already... but was surprised that I didn't. She says them for me a couple times before I memorize that the black crown building was Oblivion – not the weirdest name for the third year building, right? – and that the flower one was my building, Oathkeeper. She looks at Kingdom Hall, the smallest building before turning to me.

"You know, I think I can take you all the way to the counselor's, if you want. It's not a problem." She says quietly, turning away from me slightly. As I stare at her, I notice a faint blush on her cheeks, something that immediately makes me want to turn and run.

She _liked_ me.

She suddenly scowls at me, like she was reading my thoughts. "I'm only asking because you're going to get lost, Minami. Don't be full of yourself." She sneers irritably, shaking her head at me. I scowl right back her, making an ugly face that suddenly made her snicker and hide a smile. I scowl even more. That was supposed to make you run... like in, terror, you know?

Before I even notice it, my mouth starts moving on its own. "Well, if I'm going to get lost..." Since when was I this sarcastic? And why am I talking? "You might as well show me the way, oh master Xion." I smirk and she raises an eyebrow, looking at me thoughtfully, like she was trying to figure me out. She smiles and nods.

"Sure... Lord Sora." She says softly, bowing in an abnormally formal way and holding her hand out to me. It looked like a gesture she had practiced a thousand times before, something that she had learned when she was very little. Startled, I automatically take her hand, squeezing it gently like I used to do with my dad when I was little.

She grins.

"I think we'll be... friends." She says softly, chuckling softly to herself. There's a strange expression on her face, almost like she wants to say something else but instead, she just turns to Kingdom Hall. She nods towards it, pulling me forward a few steps before I understand that she wants me to follow her.

She's a very weird girl, but there's just something... familiar... I shake my head and follow my new best friend.

**Counselor's Office, Kingdom Hall**

Xion peeks into the office, warily checking it for … I don't know what, but apparently she thinks it's safe. She drops my hand and walks in, slamming her palm on a bell that was on the desk. I look around while she calls out: "VII, VII are you here!"

Seven? The way she was saying it... makes me think of the Roman numeral instead of the number...

I pick up a picture that's on one of the smaller desks, a picture of a group of kids not much older than we are. One of them, a blond guy with a calm scowl, looks so familiar that it makes me laugh nervously. He looks so much like Uncle Cloud, it's kinda spooky. I look closer and notice the giant blade on his back, as well as the girl in black holding his hand beside him.

… It _**was**_ Cloud.

I look at the rest of the picture, taking in how Uncle Zack was in it too; he was hugging Auntie Aerith around the waist, pulling her in close. From the blush on her face, she wasn't too upset from the position. Those were the limit of who I could recognize though; everyone else was a complete stranger. There's a little girl holding a giant shurikin that was easily bigger than she was, a guy with blood red hair and a baton, a big black guy with... I squint at the picture, realizing that there's a machine gun grafted to his arm. Wow. He must have been _real_ hardcore.

At the very bottom of the picture, there's these two kids who look completely off from the others. Maybe it was because they didn't have weapons, or maybe because they were much younger than the others... or maybe because they didn't belong to the group at all. Even the little girl with the ninja star looked more at ease with the group than they did. The younger one, a guy with red hair and green eyes, glares up at the camera violently, as if he was threatening the photographer with a very painful death or something. He looked like he didn't want to be in the picture at all. I look closer, and notice his hand is in a gesture that would have earned me a week's grounding back on Destiny Island.

I chuckle and look at the other boy curiously. He was completely different from the first boy in that where the redhead was all emotions, this guy was calm. Serene even. He had this weird blue hair that looked spiked, but as if he just woke up like that, too. In the picture, he looks like he was bored, but his blue eyes look... hungry. Like he was starving for something... I shiver violently, gripping the wooden frame slightly. I can tell that whatever he wanted, it wasn't food.

A hand suddenly grips my shoulder, squeezing very hard. I jump, looking up at the coldest pair of golden eyes I have ever seen. The man snatches the picture from my hand, throwing it back carefully on the desk. I blink and suddenly recognize the blue boy from the picture. My jaw drops in shock as he moves away from me, walking over to the desk and beginning to pick up papers.

Xion growls softly beside me, glaring at him angrily.

He notices the look and smirks coldly, glancing at me warily. "Next time, ask before you touch my things... Sora." He says softly, his voice almost pleasantly warning me. I shiver. He... sounded familiar... and it kinda scares me. Like I should know him, but I don't. And trust me, I would have remembered a guy like this. He picks one more piece of paper before tucking them under his arm neatly. He looks to Xion with the most blatant look of disgust I have ever seen any human being give another. And I've been there when Selphie fights with Tidus and Wakka. "Your job is done, XIV. Leave." He says softly, waving his hand at her dismissively as he sits down at the desk. He kicks the other chair, obviously offering it to me.

Xion stiffens, looking like she was struggling not to go over and slap the guy in the face. Her hand curls up into a fist and she looks at me pleadingly but angrily, bowing her head at him for a moment before she marched out, slamming the glass door behind her. The man's gaze turns back to me, and I automatically take my seat in the chair he had offered to me.

He smiles slightly, as if he was pleased or something, and he turns back to his paperwork. He pulls out a sheet of paper, tapping the top of it as he shows it to me. He lays the others on the desk and I quickly see my name on the paper. My transcript glares at me threateningly, and I look up at him in confusion. "You are very lucky to get into this school, Sora, and we... are _**very**_ lucky to have you. My name is Saïx, and I will gladly help you around, if you wish it." He says formally, making me wince. I think he just called me stupid, but I'm not sure. Was I stupid? Saïx brushes a strand of blue hair out of his face before picking up the transcript again and shoving it into the paper-pile. "Now... your schedule was a little difficult for us to determine. Many of the teachers wanted to have you in their classes." I blink in confusion.

Wait, _**what**_? Did I just hear that right? Teachers _wanted_ me in class?!

He smiles at me again, trying to put me at ease. It doesn't work. "But we narrowed it down to a few teachers and made you a nice, easy to follow schedule. I am sure you'll have a few familiar faces to make things a little more comfortable for you. That... girl, Xion, is in some of those classes and so is her brother. They're both... friends of mine." Saïx tells me, rubbing at his eyebrow slightly.

For the first time, I notice the huge X-shaped scar on his face. The jagged end – and I'm not sure how I know this – was caused by a very sharp blade. Immediately, I understand his gesture.

_'Don't fuck with me, follow along and everything will go okay for you, boy.'_

I straighten up, looking him in the eyes defiantly. I smile brightly at him, trying to hide how my hands were shaking. This guy was nuts. I could see it now, and I have no idea how I missed his nut-ness. His whole body is tense, but somehow relaxed, as if he was completely calm. His eyes flicker all over the place, as if sizing up invisible opponents to fight... or to kill. This was the kind of guy who made a very good serial killer. He also was the kind of guy who never got caught.

"Sora?" Saïx asks curiously, looking at me as he laid his hand on mine in a caring gesture.

A fierce shiver runs down my spine, making the air in the room seem about thirty degrees colder than it actually was. I smile broadly, baring my teeth in a very happy way, despite how I really just wanted to run. Something inside of me, my instincts maybe, was telling me to run and not look back at this guy.

Saïx looks at me knowingly and nods, patting my hand awkwardly. "I see... you must be very nervous about starting a new school, correct?" I nod, willing to do anything to get away from this guy. He smiles sympathetically, chuckling softly under his breath. Somehow, the smile doesn't sit right on his face, like it was fake or something. "Well, I will be here to help you if you need the aid, Sora. Any one of my associates will help _you_, Sora." I really don't like that emphasis at all. He straightens up a bit, glancing at the top page in his stack. "… Now... the first class of yours is in the Oathkeeper building. Do you know where that is?" I nod again and he looks disappointed for a moment, as if he wanted to help me get there. "I see. Then go right up to the third floor and find Miss Heartilly. She's your instructor for your first class. Off you go."

He gets up, looking like he was about to pull one of those old gentleman things that they help the lady from their chair. There was no way this 'lady' was going to let him touch me again! I spring up, smiling brightly as I snatch the paper from his desk.

Saïx gives me a little wave good bye, as if he was saying good bye to a favorite nephew or maybe even his son. Calmly, I walk out of the office and close the door, resisting the urge to scream that I needed an adult and to call the police.

Instead, I scratch at my cheek, looking at the paper I had taken in confusion. Like Xion had said, most of my classes were in Oathkeeper and... I squint at it, sure that I was reading it wrong. My first class was Advanced Spelling with someone named Heartilly. I sucked at English, so how I got it I have no idea. The next was AP physical education with someone named Leonhart. I had no idea you could get advanced placement gym classes. Was that even possible? To be so physically fit that you needed a harder course? Just how buff did you have to be to get this class? … And why was I in it? The next was a Healing class with a Gainsborough- I pause, eyes widening at Aunt Aerith's name. Wait, what? She was a teacher? Since _**when**_?

A low cough comes from behind me and I look at Xion, who was furiously scowling at me. She snatches the paper from my hand and scans it quickly, suddenly looking pleased as she does so. I wave at her, happy to see a familiar face. Anyone would be more welcome after dealing with Stabby McBluehair back there. She smirks and rummages around in her jacket pocket, finally pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper and handing it to me with a thumbs-up.

Her... schedule?

I take it and slowly begin to grin as I notice she has almost all of the same classes I do, especially the ones for Spelling and PE. I look at her, wondering how she got into all of them and whether or not this was some sort of cool joke. Maybe someone up there liked me?

"First year but very smart," Xion explains with a cheerful grin. "But I think they did that on purpose... Either way... it'll be really cool to have you in my classes, Sora. I think you'll like them." She says softly, chuckling in amusement as we swap papers again. She shoves hers back in her pocket while I look at the room number on mine. It says that Heartilly's room was in the... 308th room. Xion notices my confusion before laughing. "Third floor, eighth room. The numbering's weird here." She clarifies for me, making me slam my hand into my forehead. I could have figured that out. Sheez, what's wrong with you Sora?

_'It's not your fault, Sora. You don't know any better.'_

I jump at the sudden voice, looking around the hall in shock for the girl. Even a quick looks reveals that there's no one here in the building but me and Xion. Vaguely, I touch my head, wondering if I had just hallucinated. Xion chuckles before squeezing my shoulder comfortingly. From the look in her eyes, she had heard it too.

At first, I can barely hear her voice as she speaks, she was being so quiet. "They say this place is haunted. By a ghost in white. Don't be surprised if you hear voices." She tells me, smiling slightly. I shiver, not liking the idea of being haunted by a girl. Not that a guy ghost would be better, but still. It's doubly creepy to be haunted by a girl, like a supernatural fangirl or something. I pull the blazer a little closer as Xion takes my hand again. Carefully, she begins to lead me out of Kingdom Hall.

She looks over her should as she walks, her blue eyes turning black with a strange emotion I couldn't understand. Despite only knowing me for one day, she walks faster, as if she was trying to protect me from whatever lay in the Hall.

**Oathkeeper Building**

When we got to the room, there was only one person in there, a girl who was writing on the chalkboard. Xion quickly pulls me to a seat in the front, plopping herself down at the desk closest to the teacher's. She grins as I grimace; I never liked sitting in the front. Too many chances for the teacher to figure out you weren't doing what you were supposed to. But either way, I sit down, not wanting to be alone.

It was bad enough I was new, after all.

The girl up front finishes scribbling and steps back a few steps to look at her work. Unable to help it, me and Xion look too, and my jaw nearly drops from how convoluted and complicated the art work was. It looks more like a series of mathematical graphs, but somehow it wasn't. The girl smiles slightly before turning to Xion, chuckling. "You think the new students are going to understand this, Xion?" She asks curiously, suddenly making me jump.

She wasn't a student at all. She was the _**teacher**_!

Xion shrugs, but pulls out a piece of paper from somewhere inside of her pocket. She smooths its crumpled surface a little, before she dubs it ready to write on. She starts scribbling down the graphs in surprisingly neat handwriting. I blink at her before pulling my backpack off of my back, opening it up and ripping out a notebook from the cluttered mess inside. I begin to copy the graphs too, not sure what I was doing.

Maybe I was just copying Xion.

The names at the tops of the graphs say 'Base, a-ending, Aga ending, and a-gun ending,' all with different colors: red, blue, and yellow. There's also a green one, but that one is expanded to also say 'Life' at the very bottom. Besides each graph there's a symbol, like there's a group of red flames by the red graph, blue squiggles (… water?) by the blue one and a yellow zigzag by the yellow graph.

Somehow... even as I start copying it all down, it looks familiar. Like I knew this.

But that was impossible. I've never studied _**anything**_ like this in my life!

Xion taps my arm with her pencil, making me look over at her in confusion. She smiles and chuckles. "You'll do fine. You'll be a natural at this." She informs me in a soft whisper, grinning conspiratorially at me. I nod nervously, not sharing her enthusiasm. I scratch my head in confusion as I finish up the last graph, scribbling down the final doodles from the board and underlining it carefully.

As I do so though, it almost looks like the paper begins to... glow. I jump, staring at it in shock. The flame I had just finished drawing gleams cheerfully at me, as if there really was a tiny little campfire there in my notebook. Staring at it for a moment longer, I look at Xion who was finishing up her own graphs. She notices my helpless stare before looking at my paper. When she sees the glowing drawing, she smiles, flashing me a thumbs-up.

_'Good job,' _she mouths to me, chuckling quietly to herself before turning back to her notes. There is no amount of words for how confused I am. … I was... _supposed_ to make my paper glow? With _**fire**_?

I go back to staring at my glowing little fire, putting my finger against it cautiously. Of course, being paper, it doesn't hurt at all. In fact, it didn't even feel that much warmer than the rest of the paper. You know, the part that _**wasn't**_ glowing. … Just how did I do that?

A hand claps onto my shoulder and I look up to see the girl... teacher... lady... grinning at me. "Oh, nice job, Sora! I knew you'd be able to handle this class! If glyphs aren't a problem for you, it should be easy to get you caught up." She says happily, looking at my little paper fire in emphasis. I smile at her, too confused to understand what the hell was going on or why she knew my name.

Wait, why did she know my name?

I turn up to look at her but she was already gone, and was back at the chalkboard sketching out some more doodles. I stare at the back of her blue sweater, where a pair of white angel wings were printed on the back.

Who the hell was this lady?

She finishes another set of doodles, this time a series of very complicated designs that almost... I squint, sure that I was seeing a jar with water flowing out of it. How weird. Xion shakes her head. "I really doubt we're going to be learning those," She tells the teacher, flicking her hair out of her face irritably. In fact, she looks a little scared of the drawings. "They're too dangerous for some of these idiots."

The teacher shakes her head. "Xion... While you may be correct, that's no reason to call your classmates that." She scolds, giving me a smile. It's like she's telling me to tell Xion off, or at least to agree with her about not calling the other kids idiots. I laugh nervously, looking away from both of them. I was not going to get involved. Miss Heartilly tucks a strand of black hair behind her ear and looks at the drawings she was making on the board. "Sora, Xion is right about these. They are highly dangerous, and only on here to serve as an example of what we're going to start learning. You are under no condition allowed to replicate these glyphs." She tells me very seriously, giving me a glare as I look at them.

I nod slowly, having no freakin' idea what the heck she was talking about. Looking at the board a little closer, I notice that in the "dangerous" section of the... glyphs... there was a picture of a little pot with a bunch of different designs around it. How the heck was that dangerous?

Either way, it looks like my answer made her happy because she turns right back around and starts her next drawing. I barely even notice her talking until she raises her voice. "These are dangerous, Xion, Sora. You will not use these. I'm purposely modifying some of these designs to make them wrong." The teacher says as she smears a line crookedly on the one she was making. She turns around and flashes me a big grin, her dark eyes crinkling with cheerfulness. "But if you want to get by in this class, you better listen to what I say. Okay?" She says to me, looking at me with a strange emotion on her face.

I nod slowly, unsure of what else to say. I mean, she was... weird. The teacher smiles again, a soft little kind of smile before turning to the door. "Well, here we go." She says as the door slams open and a bunch of kids all run in, everyone shoving each other and laughing and yelling at the top of their lungs.

"Miss Rinoa, you should have seen our study project this summer!"

"How is that fair, Miss Heartilly, look at what he-!"

"You know how much homework you gave us?!"

"Two whole rolls of parchment!"

The noise is just incredible, it seems like there's a thousand and a half students rushing into the classroom – some of them are even banging some large sticks against the walls as they run in – and all of them look like they want to greet Miss Heartilly. She just smiles and waves everyone into a seat, allowing them to go wherever they wanted. When I look over at Xion, she's in the middle of dumping her backpack into a seat.

A little boy dressed in this long blue robe over his uniform – he looked like he should be in elementary school, actually, what was he doing here? – starts to walk up to the seat next to her but she growls. He recoils, notices the backpack in the seat, and promptly runs off to find somewhere else to sit. She blinks before noticing my confused look and then smiles briefly before her face goes back to its blank default. "My brother's in this class, too. He usually sits by me." Xion explains as she leans back and closes her eyes. All of a sudden, she looks very tired and more than a little pissed off.

I just nod and turn my attention back to the teacher, who was in the middle of greeting everyone. While she talks to a girl who was way too hyper and happy to see her, her eyes flicker towards mine and she smiles in a secretive way. I blush, not understanding the look. It looks... familiar somehow. She winks at me and grins as she taps the board with a piece of chalk to emphasize some point to the girl, who claps her hands and eagerly runs to a seat in the second row.

Everyone looks just so damn happy to be in class... it's almost unnatural.

I watch as everyone keeps looking at me, confused expressions on their faces. It's obvious they want to come over and just plain stare at me or talk, but something was making them keep their distance. I glance at Xion, who is still copying the notes from the board on her paper. Her expression is completely blank, so different from the girl I had been walking with, that it's almost spooky. It's like someone just drained the emotions right out of her, like they took out something that was important and didn't give it back. Despite only knowing her for like an hour, I feel worried about her. Was she okay? Did she not feel well?

I start to reach out to her but someone suddenly comes in, running into a chair and sitting down on it even as he struggles not to flip it over from how fast he had been going. "Disciplinary Committee! Watch out, the thugs are coming!" He wheezes out in a weak voice as he looks up at the door in what almost looked like a defiant glare. I stare at Hayner as he slams his head into the desk. He peeks out at me from beneath his arms, no doubt curious on why I was in his class. Either way, Hayner gives me a smile, despite the way he was messing with me on the train. I guess somewhere along the way, he decided he likes me.

The teacher rolls her eyes. "And so it begins." She mutters darkly to herself, though she was loud enough for almost everyone to hear her. As everyone else gazes nervously at the door, I can hear Xion make a loud 'Chhh' sound besides me. Even without looking, I can tell she's pissed off. Call it a friendly instinct. I keep my eyes on the notebook, reading my own notes in wary confusion. It's weird, but I can tell that this is a good tactic for avoiding whoever was going to come into that door in a few seconds. Everyone is either afraid of them... or angry.

I keep redrawing my notes, trying to get that little flame to snuff itself out, but no matter what I do, it keeps glowing like a freakin' traffic light. Heck, when I try it with another pencil, it turns green. There is a heavy atmosphere in the air, like a storm was coming and everyone didn't know whether it was the kind of storm you could ride out in your room... or the kind you had to evacuate.

It was all kind of really stupid.

Then I feel the really, really, _**really**_ heavy hand on my shoulder. "Rai, do you think he's in my seat? I think he's in my seat." A voice says in amusement as I feel the hand slowly begin to tightens around my shoulder. Oh. _Now_ I get it. I look up cautiously to see three kids, with the youngest looking to be about twelve and the oldest looking like he should be up there with Miss Heartilly teaching. The middle one was the one who had talked and he grins at me when I notice him. "Oh yeah, he's definitely in my seat, Rai." The kid says as he adjusts his beanie over his blond hair.

The big guy holding onto me bends down and looks me right in the eye, and even though he's intimidating as hell, he's smiling at me. "Uh, you're in Seifer's chair, y'know? You might want to get out of it, y'know. Please." Rai informs me politely, or at least as politely as a two hundred pound gorilla of sheer muscle could talk to someone. I look at his giant arms, which could easily benchpress a truck. Yup, I totally get it now. Chuckling nervously, I grin at the big guy and for whatever reason, I shake my head no.

Rai stares at me for a few minutes, obviously confused that I hadn't just leaped out of the way to do his bidding. And really, I'm wondering the same thing. In bigger words, of course I had to be a smartass. Dammit me! Can't you keep your head down? The blond kid immediately glares at me before a slick little smile appeared on his face. He turns to the kid besides him and this is when I realize it's a girl.

Oh shit.

The girl blinks once before nodding in agreement. "New guy." She says in a calm voice, pointing at me with the same kind of gesture a normal person would use to show someone a diseased fungus in a rotting corpse. Ouch. Am I that goofy looking? She smiles at me and her one visible red eye glitters in the light. She flicks her bangs out of her face. "Baptism." The girl says after a pause. The two boys let out an amused hoot and the blond kid grins in dark amusement. I stare at her. And I thought I wasn't talkative. Wait... what does that mean? Why do I not like the feeling of this?

Xion jumps out of her seat, marching right up to the blond kid and grabbing his shirt collar. "You touch Sora, Seifer, I'll kill you!" She growls, and for once, a tiny petite fiteen year old is actually the most intimidating creature I had ever seen. And yes, from the savage grin on her face, she is dead serious. I shiver in the big kid's grip and I shake my head as if to say I really had no control over what was going on. The girl nods, obviously understanding my little dilemma.

After all, it's not like I came to school like... _'Oh boy! I'm going to get into major trouble and get screwed over by the town bullies! This'll be fun!' _Yeah, not my style.

The blond gets dragged closer to Xion's face as she glares at him, and I swear on everything that is good, she was trying not to punch him. Her hand trembles with the effort even as the kid smiles at her. He puts his hand on her head and ruffles her hair in a mockingly playful way. "Last time I checked, we totally owned you lamers!" He tells her with that stupid grin on his face, and this time I'm the one trying not to deck him. 'Course, it helps that Rai was holding onto me with a hand the size of a trashcan lid. Seifer runs his thumb down Xion's face and tilts her head up to meet his gaze. "You Organization dweebs shouldn't even be talking to me." He informs her in a quiet voice before placing his other hand on her stomach.

I see it in his hand before he actually says the word.

"Firaga."

For a moment, I can tell that Xion had no idea what was going on and then her eyes widen in horror. She suddenly gets it, and she knows exactly what was going to happen next. A ball of flames the size of a grapefruit flickers into existence between his fingers, the orange sparks shooting out into the air as he grips my friend's stomach. The shape of his fingers burn into her clothing, setting the green blazer on fire even as Seifer throws her forward. She skids across the floor with the force of both the shove and whatever the hell he just did, and she smacks into a wall, her head letting out a very sickening _crack!_ when she smacks into it. Her clothes are on fire, and she is burning and no one is doing anything. I look at Miss Heartilly but she doesn't move and remains leaning on the chalkboard with a calm expression on her face. Why the hell wasn't she moving?! The flames grow higher, dancing around Xion's body in some sick little dance. I watch as the kid twirls his finger around in the air, as if directing it. And sure enough, it does move with his gestures and it grows hotter, hot enough to make Xion begin to sob in her state of unconsciousness. Then with the same gesture he had been using to conduct it, Seifer's flames suddenly go out and her clothes are left smoking and charred with whatever the hell he did to her.

I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and I look at the limp body of the girl I had befriended with a numb heart.

Fire. That son of a bitch could summon fire. What the hell kind of school did I just get myself into?


	13. Chapter 12: Doppelganger

**Now... as previously stated to someone who expressed some interest in taking over this story, I am not dead and Chasers will continue. I've just been a little busy trying to get into college.**

**I actually have one more chapter for you guys (whoever's left, I say howdy howdy howdy) but if I put it in next, you guys might kill me. **

**So, as previously said before, Kingdom Hearts is not mine blah blah, blah.**

**I hope you guys enjoy!**

**PS: My friend Katy, the FF8 buff, pointed out that Rai in his original incarnation is immune to Thunder-based attacks. ... Uh... whoops? With that in mind, people who have not read this yet, this chapter was edited slightly. **

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><p>Chapter 12: Doppelganger<p>

I watch as the boy's fingers curl back into his palm, an amused smirk spreading across his face as he looked back up to the teacher. Miss Heartilly glanced at him before running to Xion's side, her boots clacking against the tiles as she made her way over to the passed out girl. Some of the other kids immediately stand up and start to help, but I still couldn't move. I could only sit there underneath that big kid's hand and stare at the kid who had just attacked a younger girl for no reason. Attacked her with _fire_.

Organization... he'd called Xion an Organization dweeb... what Organization? Why did he hate her so much? I don't understand...

I stare at Seifer's hand, shaking violently as the boy quietly thumps his fist into his other hand in a victorious gesture. What the hell was wrong with this guy? He grins at me, his blue eyes glittering as if he had just won some great victory instead of beating up a little girl. He sighs for a moment before adjusting his beanie again, moving it over his blond fringe again. "Will you get out of my seat now?" He asks me as he adjusts it over his forehead, giving me a bright little smile. Like we were friends.

As if in answer to his words, the big kid who had his hand on my shoulder suddenly lets go of it and looks at me expectantly, giving me a broad smile in return. As his hand drops from my shoulder, I stand up and look at the kid eye to eye. In those brown eyes, this kid... Rai... I could see that he honestly didn't see anything wrong with what he was doing. He didn't think he was a thug, only that he was helping out his friend. I glance over to the blond. Seifer grins at me and moves out of the way for me as I pick up my backpack and notebook from where I had dumped it on the desk.

There's nothing else I can do but step aside.

I look over to Xion as I start walking part Seifer and his friends, each footstep feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds against the tile floor. It should be breaking through the tiles with each step I take but somehow it doesn't. It doesn't and I find myself standing in front of the little girl in Miss Heartilly's arms. Her body is limp against the teacher's, her eyes closed tightly. I could see bruises on the exposed part of her stomach, where her button-down had been burned away. It should have made me feel embarrassed but somehow it didn't. All it did was make me want to cry and my fingers clench into a fist. She had been hurt and it was all my fault. It might have been because I was new or whatever, maybe this was all a hazing ritual done by these clowns, but it started because of me. Xion had been looking out for me and I don't why she was. But she was... a friend. How weird that she was... I look up at the blond kid waiting for me to step aside.

Without even thinking about it, I pull my fist back and slug the fuck in the face.

Seifer tumbles against one of the desks behind him, tipping it over with a loud crash of wood meeting tile and skull meeting wood. I grin for a moment before turning to a gasping Rai and shoving him next, jumping over the desk we had been fighting for possession of to stand at the front of the room. I drop into a half-crouching position, bringing my fists up to my face like I was a freakin' boxer. Hey, boxer I might not be but this could totally work.

The big guy, Rai, immediately goes for me, wrapping that huge hand around my throat and slamming me into a desk as easily as if I weighed no more than a kitten. He looks at Seifer like he was worried about him but he keeps his grip on me, forcing my head backwards onto the edge of the desk. Rai looks at me with rage. "You jerk! How could you, we're on the Disciplinary Committee!" He informs me as his other hand rises behind his shoulder, like he thought I knew what that meant. Oh my god, he's about to punch me. Holy crap, I'm about to die.

I squeeze my eyes shut, quietly saying a few quick prayers to whatever deity that might be listening. Help me, Yevon, help me Odin, hell, help me anyone! I brace myself, biting my lip to keep myself from screaming when the guy actually punches me.

But the fist never comes.

Instead, I feel the pressure of Rai's hand being ripped off of my throat and I hear him yelping in shock as he's dragged backwards. My eyes fly open to see Ven dragging the older guy off of me, despite the fact that Rai had to weigh at least fifty more pounds than him. My jaw drops as Ven easily jumps backwards as soon as Rai whips around, the big guy swinging at him with fists the size of my head. He dodges, weaving in and out of the punches like a professional boxer before pulling his own fist back and shouting out a word.

"Blizzardaga!"

My jaw drops at least to the floor as spikes of ice start forming around my brother's knuckles, blue and jagged. Ice. Ice? My brother... knows how to use magic? When the fist connects with Rai's stomach, the bigger kid lets out a high-pitched "Ooof!" and tumbles headfirst over a desk, shivering violently from the the ice going through his body. Was he bleeding? Oh my god, Ven just shanked someone with ice. Ven eyes him cautiously as he seizures, like he wanted to make sure he stayed down. There's a cold look I've never seen in my brother's eyes as he steps over Rai's body and walks over to Seifer, getting down into a crouch to look the injured kid in the eyes.

Seifer recoils for a moment before glaring at him, baring his teeth in a savage snarl. But his hand remains pressed to his nose, like he was trying to stop the bleeding. Lines of blood keep trickling down though, and he looks like he's in some serious pain. Did I break his nose by accident? Ven keeps staring at him, a wry smile stretching across his lips.

"Who hit him?" He asks the class next, chuckling quietly under his breath. No one says anything. I catch a few people glancing over at me before looking back at Ven in fear, literally backing away from him as quietly as possible. Meanwhile, I keep staring at my brother, unable to believe what I was hearing. There's this strange happiness in his voice, like he wanted to give whoever punched Seifer a bundle of flowers. Instead of answering, my gaze flickers over to Xion and Miss Heartilly. Xion stirs in the teacher's arms, who was muttering some gibberish under her breath to her. A green light appears between her fingers, something familiar... I don't know if magic counts with healing. Does it count?

Ven flicks a stray hair out of his face and grins before winking cockily to Seifer. The kid spits angrily onto the floor and I can see spots of blood in it. "Well, whoever did this to you, I can count them in my friends. Now... Seifer... I'm going to punch you for what you did to Xion. And then I'm going to beat the living tar out of you until you almost die. And _then_ I'll let Rinoa patch you back up. Kay?" When Ven says that last word his face screws up into this cheerful little smile, making me shiver violently. What the hell was wrong with my brother? What was going on?

Seifer just drops his gaze over to Xion, seeming to finally understand what exactly he had done. His mouth opens and closes once, then one more time before he looks up at my brother. Ven keeps smiling at him, pulling his fist back in preparation for the punch he had promised. "I'm sorry." Seifer tells him in a quiet voice and I could tell he meant it. He had gotten too carried away in protecting his turf from the newcomer – I was that intimidating, I guess – and had gotten an innocent bystander hurt.

Ven grins. "So what?" He says in an amused voice, muttering something that sounded like what he had used to summon the electricity. Arcs of blue light form around his knuckles again, obviously about to inflict some serious pain on poor Seifer. Electricity... In response to this, Seifer just closes his eyes and waits to take it. I notice that his ankle is crumpled underneath him at a weird angle, like he had accidentally twisted it when he fell. It hits me like a punch to the face. I broke his ankle. I broke it and now he couldn't move. And since he couldn't move, all he could do was take the blow and whatever more that Ven decided to give him.

All of a sudden, I feel Ven's shirt underneath my fingers as I shove him away from Seifer and my eyes widen in horror just as I realize what I've just done. I see my brother tumble to the ground, the hand of electricity spluttering out when he hits the tiles. His head actually bounces once before he lands onto his side and stays completely still for a little while. A panicked Seifer stares at me before putting his hand onto his ankle, muttering quickly under his breath and making the same green light that Miss Heartilly had made. He was healing himself so he was out of the way when Ven got back up. Holy crap, my own brother was going to kill me now. I don't even know how I was able to move so damn fast.

I tremble violently as Ven's hazy eyes clear and then focus on me with rage. He really was going to kill me now. I drop back into a fighting position, my hands near my face like a boxer. Ven snarls viciously, pulling himself up with one of the desk chairs and then he pulls himself to his feet. And I notice something for the very first time. On Ven's waist, he had a black jacket tied neatly around his hips.

A cold wave of shock flows through my body as I recognize the kid from the Train Station from a day or two ago. Damn was I stupid.

"You're _so_ not my brother," I hear myself saying just as the kid starts making his way to me. Yup, definitely going to die.


	14. Chapter 13: The Pawn's Part

**You can tell I said "Screw it, this is going up so they won't be surprised/pissed off later." **

**Read and review, folks, I like my reviews!**

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><p>Chapter 13: The Pawn's Part<p>

Solemnly, the dark-haired boy stares into the small pendant he had cupped in his scarred hands. The fine golden chain dangles through the spaces between his fingers, threaded through the blood-red gloves he wore. He had been staring at the heart-shaped pendant for over an hour now, and even then, he couldn't get tired of looking at the tiny picture within.

It was an old, faded picture – probably worn out from being worn around someone's neck so often. The day he had visited her, he had personally snatched it from her. She didn't deserve the picture. He did. It was his by right, considering what she had done to them.

A cold smirk appears on the boy's face as he crushes the locket in his hand, curling his long thin fingers into a tight fist. Rage burned deeply inside, only reinforced by the hatred he felt for the two adults in the picture. What else could he feel towards them, besides betrayal? It was their fault, all of it!

"Damn them!" He hisses venomously, his mouth contorting into a savage snarl. Even now, even with the happy picture of the small family he had lost now in his possession, hate and rage still grew within him.

It was so intense, he could practically feel a bitter iron taste in his mouth at the thought of the two adults who had cast him aside. Even now, he longed for the ancient bladed weapon he had mastered with such difficulty to find its way into the man who had betrayed him, just as his little "friend" had found a lovely nest inside of the woman's heart, driving her almost to the brink of insanity with pain from her newly acquired "illness". Ah, how sweet it was when he learned from the parasite that she was dead! It had almost been a pity when he learned he couldn't toy with her some more.

He chuckles quietly to himself for a moment before placing the broken chain – he had accidentally snapped it when he tore it from her neck; a pity because he had actually wanted to wear it because of its sentimental value to him – back inside of the small crimson pouch he now wore around his neck since that day. Almost in afterthought, he pulls the glossy black helmet off of his head, allowing his dark hair to bask in the glow of the early morning sun on top of the Clock Tower of the town his Master had told him to supervise for a time.

The Master.

The boy's golden eyes narrow slightly at the thought of the old man and, like always, the burning desire to drive his blade deep, deep inside of the old man's bald head was almost overpowering. Oh, he longed to kill him, just as he longed to kill the two betrayers. But for now, the old man would have to stay alive long enough to help him find the missing ones. As much as he hated him, as much as he desired to kill the old man in the most painful, cruelest way possible, the missing ones came first. After all, that was why he had gone with the Master in the first place.

Idly, his gloved fingers play with the black ribbon around his neck, toying with the dark crimson pouch that held the locket. He longed to open it up again, to look at the missing ones and see himself when he had been a child. He never noticed before how strangely beautiful their shared eye color was. After stealing the pendant, he had been mesmerized by the startling sapphire hue that each of them had displayed in their irises. It was almost, but not quite, a pity that he had lost that color so long ago.

Briefly, he brushes a finger against the shadows beneath his eyes, brought on by a lack of sleep and an excess of training. His innocent oceanic eyes had long since faded away, replaced by a harsh, metallic gold. He smirks in amusement. Oh, how they would laugh when they saw him again. He knew that they would. They would greet him with open arms, just like they had when he was little and still had that blue-eyed stare. Then, once they helped him kill the last betrayer and his Master, they would be happy again. He would make sure of it.

He stands up on the ledge, brushing his tight-fitting, red-tinged black body suit off carefully before snatching his fingers away from the pouch. He shakes his head violently, forcing himself to focus on placing that hated black helmet back onto his head and obscuring his features once again.

As he steps into the ancient mansion, he's careful not to knock over any of the cobweb and dust covered furniture, not wanting a repeat warning from his Master. For an old man, he sure did like to talk. He shakes his head, ridding his mind of any defiant thoughts for the moment as he strolls idly past the cracked statues, the only remnants of the previous inhabitants. And a symbol of his master's rage.

He stops, listening calmly. Closing his eyes, he focuses only on the weight of the helmet he carried in his hands, ignoring the screams of his master and the howls of the creatures that he was trying his best not to create. After a moment or two, his master's cries become too faint to hear, as the medicine that he had been given finally takes effect, silencing him for a few hours more, preventing him from feeling the missing part of him.

The boy sighs. Finally.

Now that the old man was dead asleep, he could finally look. Taking care not to wake him up, the boy tiptoes across the room to where a small glass sphere was resting on a filthy blue pillow. The glass itself is completely clean, and glitters in an almost friendly sort of way as the boy looks into it. For a moment, there are no shapes in the glass except for his own. All he can see is his own reflection, his once delicate features twisted with his anger and his hate.

Then it shifts, the clear glass going murky with a thousand more colors than were present in the dank little room. The boy pulls up a chair and looks into the glass even harder, childishly thinking that it would work faster if he wills it. Colors bend and break into fragments, like stained glass in a cathedral

Slowly and delicately, he picks up the glassy sphere and places it firmly on his head, screwing it on tightly until he could no longer see the world anymore. All he could really see inside of the helmet was the shadows in front of him, the ones that marked what he had to do next. He smirks. That was just how he liked it.

And now he could finally get back to school. Ven would be waiting for him there... Ven... and his little brother. He smiles beneath the helmet, wondering exactly how dear little Sora was doing.


	15. Chapter 14: Protector

**Riku has been sacked.**

**Axel has been sacked.**

**This joke has been sacked.**

**Disclaimers: KH is not mine.**

**Alright, in all seriousness, I was unhappy with how this chapter came out so I rewrote a part of it to make more sense. If you read the first draft, read this instead.**

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><p><span>Chapter Fourteen: Protector<span>

I run faster down the halls, skidding around the corner and nearly falling on my ass. Holy crap, I was going to die now. Move, Sora! I dodge the wall I had skidded around and jump into a group of kids that were going the opposite way. I hear them yelling at me but I don't give a damn right now.

"Hey!"

"Watch it, freshman!"

Yeah, yeah, love you too, bye! I move my way around them, trying my best not to accidentally knock anyone over and get them into the firing range. What feels like a million elbows shove into my sides as I wade through the crowd of students and for once, this doesn't piss me off. It just makes me move faster. Had to move faster, had to keep going, had to get the innocents out of the way! I swear I could feel him right on my ass and if I don't move faster-

"HEY! NEW KID!"

Aw, hell. I feel a very inappropriate smile cross my lips as the crowd of kids that had previously surrounded me and hid me suddenly parts, leaving me stranded in the middle of the hall. Oh come on. I turn around and watch as the kid who looked like my brother walks slowly towards me like he was some sort of scary bad guy in a movie. Yeah, I'm so not scared. My eyes drop down to the spikes of ice around his knuckles and I gulp, knowing that every single one of them has my name on them.

The kid growls, sounding freakishly close to what I imagine a very pissed off tiger would sound like. I gulp again as he takes another few steps and I watch his ice-covered fist in fear. Rai, as big as he had been, had gone down from one hit of the stuff. What if it was magic? Well, of course it was magic and all that but what if it did something else-?

The boy's fist whizzes past my ear, startling me out of my thoughts as the ice on his knuckles slice through my skin. I let out a startled yelp as the ice particles freeze onto my earlobe; when the blood went trickling down my aching ear, it felt like I had suddenly gotten frostbite. Son of a bitch! Catching my eye, the kid smiles as he pulls his fist back to give me another one. Oh, this was going to hurt, this was going to hurt a lot.

Normally, this is the point where I would have fallen over in pain and started crying out to not be punched again but this time... my body had other ideas.

I find myself dodging the second punch, seeing it coming like I was some sort of insect-based superhero. The kid's fist swings by me wildly, nearly making him spin around and fall over. He stares at me in utter shock, obviously asking me how the hell I was able to do that. He blinks a few times before looking at his hand and then back up at me. I just give him a little shrug, just as confused. Hey, I'm not doing anything, the legs did it all on their own.

He keeps staring at me for a minute before dropping his hand to his side, obviously thinking over what just happened. And how I apparently had superpowers now because I'm freaking Super Sora. Wait, focus. Quick, Sora, this is your chance! I start to carefully sidestep towards the nearest classroom so I could grab a teacher and beg for protection. No idea what to do when I actually get inside, but hey, maybe they can stop the ice mutant.

Someone help! Anybody...?

The kid stares at me a little more before he suddenly backs up a little, and before I knew what was going on, he kicks me in the stomach and sends me flying. And when I mean flying, I mean I woke up again in a minute next to a wall feeling like it had just punched me. Hot bile gurgles up my throat, threatening to come out as I clutch my stomach in agony, trying to keep from screaming. God, it hurt, god it hurt! The kid smiles a little as I find him crouched next to me, studying my face as I begin to cry. Yes, I'm pathetic. I struggle to keep from going into full out wailing, instead just letting one or two big tears fall down my face.

But the kid still stares at me with that strange little smile on his face, like he was confused but he was beginning to figure things out. He reaches out and grabs a fistful of my hair, dragging my face up to see it clearer. "Hey you," The boy that looked like my brother says, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Oh geez, where do I start?

I say nothing, just keep my eyes down so that he doesn't get into alpha male mode and beat me up even worse. For the first time, I hear the kids around us talking. "Telling you, it's got to be the blond. Brunet's not putting up a fight." "Mage students are fighting, place your bets!" "Yeah, put my money on Roxas." Instead of helping me out, the older kids were just talking to each other and putting munny units into another kid's lunchbox. Bet money. I wince as the kid, as Roxas, lifts my head up more, pulling out a few strands of hair out in the process. My eyes remain focused on the older kids. Was this... some sort of game for them?

What the hell was wrong with people at this school? I feel my hand curl up into a fist, the blood from my various injuries dripping down onto the floor. What was wrong with people? Nobody was willing to help. Nobody even bothered to help. An image of Miss Heartilly standing by as that kid Seifer cast his flame spell on Xion flashes to mind, making me grit my teeth in anger. I could feel it deep within me, a white hot rage that rankled my sense of justice and right in the world. Nobody was willing to help anyone else except me and I was getting punished for it. I had defended Xion and later Seifer from their bullies and now I was getting my butt handed to me for it.

How the hell was that fair?

_'But you have the power to stop it, Sora.'_

Huh? I look up to see a girl in white standing in the middle of the crowd of upperclassmen, the only one not taking part of the betting pool. Her eyes were firmly on me, looking at me as if she wanted to help. But for some reason, I know that she wouldn't be able to. She wasn't strong enough to take on Roxas. But the idea that someone wanted to help made me stare at her, grateful that maybe I had one more friend, one more person, on my side.

_'You have the power to stop it, Sora,' S_he repeated softly, in a way that made me sure that she wasn't speaking out loud. Her lips weren't moving, but I could hear her anyway. _'To protect people. Don't you want to remember it?'_

The power to stop it... the power... to protect people... I close my eyes again, trying to remember exactly what she was talking about. She had been there on the train with me, and once again, this chick was only talking in riddles. Dammit, why can't girls just say what they mean in plain English? Remember... I had to remember...

My right hand curls into a O shape, like there was something in my hand I was holding. What was I supposed to remember? I couldn't... see it... But my hand remains in that shape, like I was... holding something... something... with a hilt...? A weapon?

Roxas taps my jaw with his fist, forcing me out of my reverie. "Hey. What are you doing?" He asks me curiously, like he was a friend that was legitimately concerned for my well being. I ignore him and keep trying to remember, even as he starts to wrap his arm around my waist to pick me up. He lifts me to my feet and keeps me standing, even though I don't respond to him. I just stand there next to him, my head bent forward. Maybe he thought I had a concussion and that I needed some help and maybe I did, but the movement makes something click in my head for some reason. A smile crosses my lips.

I got it.

Immediately, I shove the kid over again and bolt down the hallway, completely ignoring the startled yells from the upperclassmen who had put their munny on the fight. Yeah, whatever, screw you too! As my dear old pa used to say, the best offense was always to be the fastest runner!

A blur of classrooms and students in the same two variations of uniforms, skirts and plaid pants, zips past me as I skid my way around a few kids to go around the corner. From the corner of my eye, the kid starts to recover behind me. Oh, I know he's going to be after me in about five seconds but I wasn't called the fastest kid on the Island for nothing. I was going to be gone, way gone by the time he picked himself up!

Then I feel the kid's punch connecting with the small of my back and I feel the air rip through my fingers as Roxas sends me flying into a wall again, slamming my head against it with a sickeningly loud crack. I tumble onto my back and hit my head again, this time feeling something inside of it split open a little. Ow... A line of blood trickles down into my eye, obscuring my vision. But I still see his annoyed expression and watch as he flexes his fingers, as if punching me hurt him a lot more than it did me. I struggle to breathe, feeling the air escape me in ragged little puffs of air.

_'Sora!'_

Not now invisible ghost lady, I'm about to get my butt handed to me.

I don't even know when the kid had gotten up. He cracks his knuckles, ignoring a teacher who was now clinging to his sleeve and trying to pull him away from me. "I don't care what you were doing, you defend Seifer, that makes you a part of the Disciplinary Committee. And that means you've got a problem with me." He informs me in a wheezy breath, obviously he was tired from chasing me. I'm so sorry that I'm being such a bother. I cough weakly, feeling something warm splatter against my lips. I close my eyes, not bothering to look because I know it's blood. Damn, I'm bleeding. The blond turns to his friend, swatting the older guy's hand off irritably, like the tall red-head was some sort of annoying bug.

Great... all that... and I still had to be beat up... dammit...

I wish I was home...

I close my eyes, preparing myself for the beating of a lifetime. Forget all of the times that Wakka and Tidus had messed with me, this one was going to hurt. I didn't want to be beat up, I didn't want to go to this school, I didn't even want to live here. I just wanted to go home, I wanted to go home to Riku and Kairi.

I see my brother's face in my head for a moment, his voice saying that I was going to do well here. My hand curls up into a fist as I laugh bitterly under my breath. Of course not, Ven, of course I'm not going to do well. I'm not you. I don't do well with strangers.

Somehow, even as I think that, I know it's a lie.

_'Sora... listen... you have to remember!' _

Dammit, Ghost Lady, can't I just have a moment to pity myself before this guy beats the crap out of me?

A cool hand touches my shoulder, shaking it slightly as I begin to open my eyes. Alright, I'm up. The girl's eyes peer into my own for a moment as she lifts my head up, gently stroking my cheeks. They're blue, this amazing shade of violet-blue that takes my breath away. My breath is ragged against her skin but the touch feels good, soothing even. I let her wrap an arm around my waist and try to pick me up, though she struggles with it. I open my eyes completely, staring at the kid who was willing to get her butt handed to her from a crazed blond- wait, where the hell is Roxas?

I heard a loud thunking noise and I peer over the girl's shoulder to see Roxas slamming his fists repeatedly into the air, only to keep making that noise. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! No matter how hard he hits the air, the air somehow blocks him from coming any closer to us. A... barrier? She... put up a barrier.

Why? To... protect me?

"Naminé!" The kid says desperately, his eyes right on my little protector. She ignores him, instead focusing on somehow getting my heavy ass upright. I grab her shoulder and prop myself up against her, trying to keep most of my weight on my legs rather than on her little body. Shit, I was tired... I cough up a little more blood, weakly staring at the two kids in front of me.

Naminé wasn't dressed in a school uniform, she was in a short little white dress and... I look down at her feet, seeing a pair of sandals on her feet instead of the regulation loafers. That had to mean that... she didn't go to this school. A thought comes to me as the petite blond somehow manages start dragging me down the hall, towards a doorway between two classrooms. There was a sign above it... I shake my head, getting some of the blood out of my eyes long enough to read the sign. 'Stairs.' She was trying to get me outside.

"Naminé! Why are you helping him? He's not on our side, he's just a dumb kid!" Roxas yells out, making the girl (and to a lesser extent, me) stop in mid-step. I feel the girl's dreamy air instantly vanish from her, replaced by this red-hot wave of anger that made me flinch and try to make her let go of me. I'm not going to be caught in the middle of this, precisely because I'm not dumb. Help, constable, help me!

She just turns away from him and continues dragging me down the hall, though she started hurrying up. But I still hear her speak, even if it wasn't directed towards me. "I made a promise. I made a promise to Sora. I'm on his side now." Naminé whispers softly, her voice so quiet that I could barely hear it. But... A promise to me? She's on my side? Did we know each other besides her being my supernatural stalker?

But there's no way around it. I just have to trust her. I allow her to lead me down to the stairs and I pray that her barrier will hold up.

888888888

Ven glances at his watch, looking up into the crowd of students in an uneasy despair. Where was he? He'd told Hayner to go get Sora and bring him back to the gates. He'd even seen Hayner earlier, but he had been alone. Ven leans back against the brick post at his back, shaking his head as he waits for his brother.

Where was Sora? He couldn't have gotten in trouble already. It was only the first day!

"Hey Ven!" A familiar voice calls out, making Ven look up. The older boy sighs irritably, resisting the urge to look back to the crowd of students to look for one head of brunet spikes. "You're late," Ven tells the speaker jokingly, giving him a smile that he didn't exactly feel up to.

The boy chuckles before wrapping his arm around the shoulder of the girl trailing at his side. "You know we wouldn't miss school, Master. Especially since Sora's going to be here. We haven't seen you guys in so long." The girl says with a shy smile before giving Ven a little wave, making the blond relax slightly. She had had always had that effect on boys, it had something to do with her beautiful violet-blue eyes and her cheerful smile.

Ven nods, allowing himself a chuckle. "Well, looks like the gang's all here." He starts to say as the boy sweeps back a strand of silver hair out of his eyes and as the red headed girl adjusts her plaid skirt. "How about we go find him, Riku, Kairi?"


	16. Chapter Fifteen: An Old Friend

**Ugh, I really don't like how this chapter came out...**

**Disclaimers: KH is not mine, none of the characters are mine in the least. Please enjoy.**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Fifteen: An Old Friend<strong>

The ghost chick was grabbing my butt.

In any other circumstance, I think that would have earned me a few chuckles from someone else but I'm deadly serious.

She keeps walking, her arm firmly around my waist in order to hold me up. She's a tiny little thing, barely to my shoulders and she can't weigh half of what I do. I'm a heavy sucker. But she keeps going, somehow managing to keep me going at the same time. I don't exactly have a choice in this, but since she was willing to help me, I guess I'm willing to follow her.

"Th..." The words come out haltingly, unwilling to escape my mouth even as the girl keeps me going. "Thank... you..." I say quietly into her ear, taking a moment to relax as she carefully opens the door to the stairs.

"You're welcome, Sora," The girl says with a faint smile before pushing the door open and ushering my sorry ass into the opening. I stumble in and she walks in after me, closing the door behind her as she readjusts her position – and doesn't that sound strange – holding my arm and waist.

I stare at the little girl, and none too stealthily either. Ninja I may be, but this whole situation was freakin' weird. First off, why was she helping me? Second off, who was Roxas? Third off, why did he say that I wasn't 'one of them'? As the ghost chick turns to the stairs, obviously meaning to start helping me down them, I couldn't help but think that maybe they were all pod people.

It made sense!

"Sora," The girl says in a soft voice, giving me a big smile like she knew what I was thinking. Can pod people read minds? "Do you think you can hold the banister? I don't think I can carry you all the way down to the courtyard." As if proving her point, her entire body suddenly shakes hard, threatening to drop me and send me to a head-cracking death at the bottom of the stairs.

I nod and hook my hand on the plastic pipe leading all the way down obediently before realizing that I was in fact, being obedient. I scowl secretively, giving her a glare out of the corner of my eye because I don't exactly know her and for all I know, her little buddies could be down in the courtyard ready to jump me. The girl shakes her head and reaches out with her free hand, brushing her fingers against my lips.

The hell?!

"You really are distrusting," The girl informs me with a very sad smile, like she knew me well enough to know that. I flinch away from her hand and grip the banister a little harder, startled by the gesture. I could feel my face heating up... "It's sad. We used to be such good friends."

What?

She did not just say what I think she said. I stare at her, my mouth gaping open in shock. We're... friends? I know this girl? I quickly search through my memories, trying to find another girl that looked like this one. Blond, small, wears all white... mysterious and kinda cute... but a lot of frustrating... No matter how much I look, I can't remember a single thing happening with me and her, not even a small memory.

It was... bizarre...

Naminé smiles at me and her finger reaches up toward my head, this time pressing hard against my forehead. "Don't worry... these memories of yours," She informs me quietly, looking grim again. A wave of sadness passes through me, a strange emotion brought on from the look on the little girl's face. I start to reach for her even as the world started to go dark. "You'll remember them, Sora. You just need a little help."

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><p>We were fighting.<p>

I reached out to the kid's side, imagining an invisible holster at his waist, like there was really something hanging there. When my fingers curl around the "hilt," I could feel something solid there, something tangible. I looked up at the girl again, waiting for her approval. The kid started to move away from me and he said something to me but I couldn't hear him; his voice was too far away and it didn't matter anyway. But it was like someone had suddenly switched all the noise to the off button.

The girl in pink smiled at me, nodding gently as my hand pulled backwards on the rapier.

"Good job, Sora! Now let's see how well you can fight with it!"

Suddenly tumbling backwards, I landed firmly on my ass with the sword clutched in my hand, a sword I had somehow managed to pull out of thin air. My friend kept smiling at me even as I looked at the black sword I had in my hand and twirled it lazily, dropping back down to into a fighting position.

The kid I was sparring against caught my eye and he winked cockily, a sly smirk already crossing his lips. Like he already won, the jerk. "What, giving up already?" Riku demanded as we charged at each other, our swords already crossing in mid-sentence. "I thought you were stronger than that, Sora!"

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><p>I blink back to reality and stare hard at Naminé, a thousand questions already clambering for space on my tongue in order to ask what the hell that was. It was a memory... and somehow... I knew that it's mine, that it's my memory... but I didn't remember that event before this!<p>

She smiles again, shaking her head. "That was one of your memories..." The girl tells me in a sad voice. I stare at her, wondering how the hell she knew what I was thinking. She presses her fingertips together before continuing. "It's one of the many memories that were taken away from you."

"Taken away?" I blurt out in surprise but she doesn't seem to notice me talking. By who? By what? What could take memories?

Naminé shakes her head again. "They were taken away from you for your own good... to keep you safe." She reaches out and puts her hand onto my chest, right over my heart. I blush hard and my heart rate starts skyrocketing. As if this was what she was going for, the ghostly girl gives me another sad smile.

"I'll explain it to you soon, Sora. But for now, you need to get back to your brother," Naminé tells me before turning back to the staircase and holding a hand out to it. Even as I turn to watch, the door at the bottom suddenly swings open, slamming against the wall in its hurry to open up for her.

"Ven?" The name comes out of my mouth before I could stop it. Naminé looks at me and chuckles, looking pleased for some reason. "Yes, Sora, _Ven_. You have to get back to him. I'm only here to help you _find your way._.. You're the one who has to find the others..." With that, she started to help me down the stairs.

Okay, that last one suddenly sounded like a hint.

One stair, two stair, three stair, four. Even as we walked, my body starts getting better and soon I don't need her help to climb down. Naminé eventually lets go of me and lets me limp down on my own.

I keep looking at her, wondering what exactly she was doing helping me. She had gotten in trouble because of me, with that Roxas guy. And it looks like they knew each other pretty well. I wonder how they know each other? I didn't remember her... nothing really comes to mind when I look at her... But Naminé sure does looks familiar. Is it cause I know her?

How much trouble was she getting into because of her help? My eyes close as I think about how upset that Roxas kid was; he had looked like someone had just punched him in the stomach. And that someone had been me, if I was going to be honest with myself.

… I just don't know anymore... and just how long _is_ this damn staircase?

"Sora..." Naminé calls out quietly. I turn to the side to look at her, only to find out that she wasn't there. The hell?! I turn around and see her standing a few steps above mine with a sad look on her face. "This is where you and I say our goodbyes, for now anyway."

Wait, what?

"Good bye, Sora. I'll be in touch." She tells me quietly, turning to go back up the stairs.

"Naminé! Wait!" I yell out but one minute the girl's right there on the staircase and it's only after I blink, she's gone. She's... gone. Absolutely, completely totally gone. I stand there for another couple minutes, wondering if I had finally lost it and gone off the deep end. If I was crazy, it would make a lot of sense. Well, that or pod people.

I wipe a trickle of blood from my mouth and hobble to the door; I can't help but feel that something even worse than the beating I had just gotten is waiting for me on the other side.

But seriously, what the hell's up with this school?!

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><p>Roxas wipes his mouth hard, glaring angrily at the barrier that had been placed on the stairwell. What was she up to, running around with a mundane student like this? He runs his fingers through his hair in confusion before he shakes his head hard. It made no sense; Naminé was terrified of other people, unless they were her friends.<p>

It had taken months for her to trust him in the slightest.

"Just who is this kid?" Roxas whispers to himself quietly before getting up and dusting off his pants.

"You know..." A voice behind him comments in amusement, forcing him to turn around. "Talking to yourself is supposed to be one of the first signs of madness, right?" Axel jokes and upon seeing his friend's enraged face, immediately steps back with his hands up in the air. "Just kidding, Roxas, what's up?"

Roxas shakes his head hard. "New kid. Ran off with Naminé." Axel stares at him for a moment before laughing. "I don't see what's so funny!" The boy snaps angrily, taking a step toward him.

Axel grins. "I'm laughing because it all makes sense now. I swiped this offa Saix's desk when he wasn't looking; it has your name on it." With that, he removed an envelope from his uniform pocket and shows it to the boy. Roxas snatches it out of his hand and rips it open. Why Axel wore a school uniform when he was one of the teachers, he would never know... Roxas scans the letter and stops dead in his tracks. What?

He reads it again, sure that he had gotten it wrong. Roxas stares at it, sure that there had to be some mistake. But no, the letters were there in the exact order that he had read them.

_'XIII, you have been assigned a new mission. Observe the boy known as Sora Minami. He is one of several possible threats to the Organization at this time. Gain his trust and decide whether or not the boy is capable of falling to our side... and whether or not he should be eliminated. The brother, Ventus, is not to be attacked; he is a threat far beyond that of Sora. Capture them both, if possible. _

_Xemnas'_

"... Why would Xemnas want this kid? He's not all that special." Roxas demands quietly, staring at his orders in confusion. He shakes the envelope, checking to see if there was another piece of paper inside.

Axel smiles slightly. "Oh, that one's easy," He chuckles as he rubs his red hair nervously. Roxas pauses, glancing over at him in surprise. _Axel_ was nervous? "The kid's like you, Roxas." Axel gives the stunned boy a sad grimace.

"You... mean... he's...?" Roxas stammers out nervously. Axel only nods once before clapping his hand onto Roxas' shoulder, steadying him before he fell over in shock. Roxas feels his knees shake, like he was about to collapse. How could it be possible? Another one, just like him and his sister? All his life, he had thought that they were the only ones. No one else had their abilities, and they only had them because of what had happened to them. How could that happy go lucky kid be the same as them? Roxas remembers the fierce way that he had been attacking Rai and the others, the obvious experience Sora had shown with fighting... Could he really be the same as them?

Could it really be possible that he had found one more person with the ability?

"Let's go find your target... before Riku and the rest of the student council gets their mitts on him." Axel says bluntly but he allows Roxas to lean on him for support. Roxas just nods once, still staring off into space. If it was true... if it was true... then ... Sora was more valuable alive than he was ever dead. He could potentially be one of the most powerful fighters in the entire world. If so... Why hadn't Sora attacked him just once? He had run from him instead... A thought comes to Roxas that made him stop in shock. It was the only explanation.

Could it be... that Sora didn't know?


End file.
